Severus' and Harry's Family Experience
by Healer Pomfrey
Summary: Severus and Harry are de-aged due to a Potions accident and spend the summer holidays as six-year-old children in the care of Albus and Minerva. Completely AU, partly OOC, sick!Severus/sick!Harry.
1. Chapter 1

**Severus' Family Experience**

**Chapter 1**

Severus had to try hard to concentrate. From the time when he had woken up in the morning, his head had been aching terribly, and his throat had somehow become scratchy during the day. Not enough with that, he had to spend the evening supervising Harry Potter's detention. Potter had missed his lesson in the morning because Poppy had kept him in the hospital wing, and Albus had insisted that he had to give the boy the chance to brew his potion in the evening.

While Harry was sitting at the table right next to him trying to brew his potion flawlessly, Severus was trying to concentrate on brewing an antidote to the aging potion he intended to let the seventh year students brew the next day.

Harry looked over to the teacher when he let out a series of harsh coughs, noticing that he had dark rings under his eyes and his cheeks were flushed in contrast to his pale face. "Are you all right, Professor?" he asked, his voice laced with concern.

"I'll be all right as soon as you finish your potion, Potter," the professor spat, hating how hoarse his voice sounded.

'_Maybe he meant that well_,' he mused, suddenly recalling how concerned Harry's voice had sounded. '_Nobody except for Albus, Minerva, and Poppy ever show concern for me_,' he thought, shivering a bit, when he absentmindedly added the asphodel, which was the last ingredient, forgetting to stir counter-clockwise.

Suddenly, the potion let out an angry hiss and exploded all over the teacher, who couldn't get away in time. Seeing what was happening, Harry hurried to the professor's side, trying to pull him away from the cauldron, with the effect that he was hit with the potion as well.

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A few minutes later, Severus tried to get rid of the black robes and much too large clothes that covered his body and even his head completely. '_Where am I_?' he thought frightened, finding himself in what looked like a classroom. His head and his throat were sore, and he didn't feel well at all. Suddenly, he noticed a wail coming from his right side and saw a bundle of black robes that looked as if something small was hidden inside. Forgetting his own uncomfortable feeling for a moment, he carefully reached out for the bundle and pulled a small boy out of the huge black cloth.

"Hello, I'm Severus," he said hesitantly, not really used to other children.

The smaller child that had beautiful green eyes replied, "I Hawwy."

"Hello Harry. Where are we?"

Harry tried to scramble to his feet but fell back on his backside, noticing that his legs suddenly became wet. For some reason, he wasn't wearing a nappy. Feeling very uncomfortable now, he began to cry, while he leaned tiredly on to the older boy, who seemed very nice to him, not at all like Dudley.

"Can you stop crying? My head hurts already," Severus admonished him, and Harry quietened down immediately, not wanting to anger the nice boy. Severus thought about exploring where they were, but he felt so unwell that he couldn't muster the energy to stand up and walk around. He decided to place his achy head on the floor and tried to sleep until his mummy would come and look for him. He pulled Harry down with him, and soon they were both lying on the floor side by side, peacefully asleep.

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Hermione looked at her wrist watch in concern. "Ron, it's nearly midnight, and Harry is not back from his detention with Professor Snape. We have to go and alert Professor McGonagall."

"Wait; let me see if he isn't in the dormitory," Neville told her, already running up the stairs. "No, he isn't there," he confirmed a few minutes later.

Hermione and Ron went to their head of house's office, telling the teacher that Harry hadn't returned from his detention yet.

Minerva's mouth turned into a thin line. She motioned the students to take a seat and stepped over to the fireplace, trying to call the Potions professor in his private rooms as well as in his office. When she didn't receive a response, she tried the hospital wing.

"No Minerva, since I released him in the morning, I didn't see him, nor did I see Severus," Poppy replied, her voice laced with concern.

"All right, thank you, Poppy," Minerva replied and called the headmaster's office. "Albus, Harry was supposed to be in detention with Severus tonight and hasn't returned yet, and nobody replies when I Floo-call his quarters or his office."

"I'll Floo over and have a look if I can find them," Albus replied calmingly and cut the connection.

"Please return to your common room, or better even go to bed," Minerva turned back to her students. "I will send him up if I find him, or if I know more, I'll inform you."

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A few minutes later, Albus was just searching Severus' quarters in spite of the fact that they were dark, when Minerva stepped out of the fireplace.

"Maybe they're still in the Potions classroom, Albus," she suggested, heading over in the direction of Severus' office. Seeing light under the door that led to the classroom, the two teachers hurried into the Potions classroom that seemed to be empty on the first glance.

"Look there!" Minerva suddenly exclaimed, pointing to two children that were lying on the floor, fast asleep and completely naked. The bigger boy held the smaller one close in his arms, and two piles of clothes were on the floor beside them. She picked up the small boy, giving him a piercing look and pointed to the scar on his forehead. "It is Harry," she whispered to Albus in order not to wake the children up.

"Then this must be Severus," Albus replied, taking the older boy into his arms. "It was obviously a Potions accident. We have to ask Poppy if she can brew the antidote; however, seeing that it is past midnight, we should take the children to either your or my private quarters and ask the house elves to add a nursery, where we can care for them until they can be aged back to their normal age." He quickly filled a bit of the potion that had remained in the cauldron into a phial and pocketed it.

"All right," Minerva replied, carrying Harry out of the room. "Thank God that it's only three days until the summer holidays start," she sighed, causing Albus to chuckle.

"You're right, my dear, as usual."

While the house elves added a children's room with several doors, leading into Minerva's private quarters, Albus' private quarters, and into the headmaster's office, Minerva conjured a nappy and a light jump suit for Harry and Albus dressed Severus into light pyjamas. Suddenly, he frowned. "Minerva, can you feel Severus' forehead please? I think he feels very warm to the touch."

Minerva reached over to Albus, who was sitting next to her on the sofa, and carefully placed a hand on the older boy's forehead. "Oh, he's burning up, Albus. We should call Poppy."

"It's one o'clock in the night," Albus replied thoughtfully. "Let's take his temperature and see how bad it is first."

Minerva quickly took a tissue out of her robe pocket and transfigured it into a thermometer, which Albus cautiously stuck under Severus' armpit, before he cuddled the sleeping boy close.

"We is finished with the children's room," the house elves suddenly called out from the doorway to the children's room, and Minerva carefully carried Harry over into the new room, placing him into the cot on one side of the room.

Albus followed her, lying Severus into the bed that stood next to the cot. Between the two beds, the elves had placed a night table and two chairs; however, the teachers sat down on the edge of Severus' bed, and Minerva quickly conjured a cool cloth, handing it to Albus, so that he could bathe his flushed face. In the meantime, Albus had taken the thermometer back and placed it on the night table. "Minerva, can you please go and call Poppy? He has a fever of 39.5 degrees."

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A few minutes later, Poppy bustled into the room, waving her wand over Severus. "He has the wizard's measles, which is a very rare disease. I will contact St. Mungo's and retrieve a potion from them, which we will add to breakfast tomorrow, so that everyone else in the castle will be safe from it. However, Harry will be a problem, since he is too small to take such a potion."

"How old are they, and what do we have to do with Severus?" Albus asked, carefully unwrapping a lemon drop.

"Severus is six years and three months old, and Harry..." She quickly waved her wand at Harry, "... is two years and nine months old. I will take the phial you gave me to St. Mungo's and ask them to brew the antidote. However, we cannot give them enough of it to re-age them at once, we'll have to do it in several steps as they are so small. For Severus, it will take at least three weeks until we can give him the first dose of the antidote, since we have to wait until he doesn't have a fever anymore. As I expect Harry to fall ill in a few days too, knowing that he just recovered from the wizard's flu, so that his condition is not good enough to resist the disease, I suggest giving him just enough of the potion to re-age him up to the age of six, just as Severus is."

"Then they have at least company, especially if they'll be ill for a while," Minerva agreed, and Albus nodded his head.

_tbc..._

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_I am not a native speaker of English. So please excuse my mistakes!_

_All recognizable characters belong to __Mrs. Rowling__, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"He doesn't have to stay in bed all the time," Poppy said thoughtfully. "Only if his fever is too high or he feels too bad. If his fever is under 39 degrees and he feels well enough, he may get up and play quietly. No running around of course and you have to check on him frequently. Small children can get worse quickly. I have a healing salve, which you have to apply on the red spots Severus will be going to spike in the next days. Apart from that you cannot do much but give him a fever reducer if his fever gets too high. I will come and check on him and Harry twice a day."

The healer spelled a fever reducing potion straight into Severus' stomach and stepped into the fireplace to floo to St. Mungo's.

Minerva gave Albus a tired smile. "If they love each other as much as their older versions do, we'll have much fun during these holidays."

"Well, my dear, at least we have each other, and if they can't get along and fight all the time, we can always separate them for a few hours. But maybe they'll get along, seeing how they were cuddled to each other when we found them," Albus replied softly. "Now, let's go to bed; who knows how early they will be up and about in the morning."

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When Albus entered the children's room in the morning, Severus was still peacefully asleep, and Harry was standing in his cot, quietly holding on to the bars at the side, while tears were running down his face. Albus scooped him up in his arms and spoke to him quietly as not to wake Severus up, "Good morning, little one. What's wrong?"

Harry gave the old man a frightened look before he suddenly discovered the long white beard. His eyes lit happily when he grabbed a bit of the white stuff, pulling it to him with delight. "Hawwy wike," he whispered to the old man with the funny face.

Suddenly, Minerva entered the room, and Harry quickly tried to hide in Albus' beard. "Good morning, Harry," Minerva cooed, and Harry finally gave her a hesitating glance, whispering, "Good mownin."

"How is Severus?" Minerva asked.

Albus sighed and handed Harry over to Minerva. "He's still asleep, but I haven't checked on him yet, since Harry was already awake when I got up."

"Well, shall we change your nappy?" Minerva suggested, noticing a strange smell coming from the small child, and when he gave her a hopeful glance, she quickly waved her wand, causing him to sigh in relief. "Thank God, he seems to remember magic from the time his parents were alive," Minerva sighed to Albus, who was just taking Severus' temperature.

"38.8," Albus informed Minerva a short while later, entering his office where Minerva was sitting on the sofa with Harry on her lap, reading a story to him.

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Severus was still asleep when Poppy stepped out of the fireplace. She handed Minerva a phial. "In case you won't attend breakfast in the Great Hall, you need to drink this potion with your breakfast, so that you won't get the wizard's measles from Severus." She quickly checked on Harry, nodding contentedly. "I suggest that we give Harry the aging potion right now. It will be the best if you make him lie down on the sofa," she told Minerva, who complied immediately.

Unbeknownst to Harry, Poppy spelled the aging potion straight into his stomach. A few minutes later, his body began to stretch and he began to cry silently. The whole process took about two minutes. Seeing that Harry was still whimpering soundlessly, Poppy waved her wand at the child and sighed. "He is six years and a few days old and he seems fine except for the fact that his joints ache because of the aging potion, and he has a slight fever." She sat down on the edge of the sofa and talked to the child. "Harry, can you sit up and drink this potion for me, please? It will make you feel better."

Suddenly, Severus stepped out of the children's room and walked over to Harry. "Hello Harry," he croaked, not noticing that Harry was three years older than the Harry he met the day before. Seeing that Poppy was making Harry drink a potion he asked, "May I have a potion too? My throat is sore."

Albus stepped over to Harry making the child sit on the sofa, so that he could take his potion and Severus could sit next to him. "Of course my dear boy; I'm sure Poppy will have a potion for you too."

As soon as Harry had hesitantly swallowed his potion and visibly relaxed, Poppy turned to Severus. She waved her wand over him for a general check, pointed her wand at his head to take his temperature, and peered into his throat and his eyes, before she handed him two potions. "You have the wizard's measles, Severus," she explained gently to the frightened child. "Will you let me take your pyjama top off and see if you already have red spots on your skin, so that I can make you feel better if you have any?"

Severus gave her an anxious glance, unconsciously moving a bit nearer to Harry, and slowly nodded his head. Albus carefully took Severus' pyjama top off, causing the child to shiver a bit. "No, there's nothing to see yet," Poppy spoke again. "Severus, if you notice red spots, feel more unwell than you do now, or if you want to lie down, you have to tell Albus or Minerva, so that they can help you. You can also tell Harry and he will fetch Albus or Minerva for you. You will help Severus feel better quickly, won't you, Harry?" she asked softly, and Harry slowly nodded his head.

"Are you sick?" he asked gently, giving Severus a hesitant glance.

"Yes, but the potions already made me much better," Severus replied.

"We are all very happy to hear that, Severus," Albus spoke up. "Now I believe it's time to have breakfast since Minerva has to go teach her classes afterwards.

While Poppy stepped into the fireplace after leaving a few potions for the children, the two adults ushered the two boys into Minerva's small kitchen, where breakfast popped up on the table in a blink. Severus only picked at his food, and Albus asked concerned, "Don't you like your toast, Severus? Would you prefer something else, hmm?"

Severus looked up from his plate, frightened. "I'm sorry, sir, it's just that I'm not very hungry, and my throat is still sore," he croaked.

"Maybe soup would be better," Minerva spoke up and ordered a house elf to bring chicken broth that appeared seconds later.

Albus gently spooned a few spoons full of soup into the sick boy's mouth, while Minerva suddenly noticed that Harry wasn't eating at all. "Harry, what's wrong with you? Are you feeling sick too?" she asked worriedly.

"No, but I'm not allowed to eat at the table," Harry replied in a very small voice, glancing hesitantly at Severus.

"Why not?" Severus asked hoarsely, looking up from his soup.

"Harry, you and Severus, you're going to stay with us here during the summer holidays, and you are not only allowed to eat at the table, but we want you to eat as much as you can," Minerva told the child in a gentle but firm voice. "Now, please eat your breakfast," she added, putting a little bit of everything on Harry's plate.

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When Minerva left for her classes, Albus took the two boys back into his office. He made them sit on the sofa, giving them a piercing look. "Now tell me something; what do you like to do? Do you like to read, draw pictures, play with blocks, or what do you like?"

"I like brewing Potions," Severus spoke up.

Harry gave him a shy glance. "I don't know poshuns, but I can try with Sevus."

"My name is Severus," the other boy corrected him in a slightly upset voice, ending up in a coughing fit.

"I'm sorry, Se-ve-rus," Harry corrected himself and instinctively put a hand on Severus' back, slightly moving it around his back to help him cough. None of them noticed that Albus eyes were starting to twinkle in amusement.

"All right, but we cannot brew potions today. Maybe you can teach Harry a bit about potions first, and then we can ask Poppy if she has time to brew potions with you in a few days," Albus replied. "What would you like to do today, Harry? If Severus wasn't sick, I'd take you out on the grounds, but I don't think you're well enough to walk around a lot today."

"May we really draw a picture?" Harry asked cautiously. "I'd like that very much."

"Yes, let's draw something," Severus agreed.

Albus quickly conjured crayons and parchments for the children, placing them on a table, which he moved in front of the children, before he retired to his desk to work for a while.

Severus was very happy to be able to stay with such nice people, having kind of a brother at the same time, even if he didn't feel too well and noticed that his whole body was starting to get icky. He quickly began to draw his picture, glancing at Harry's parchment from time to time.

Harry was over the moon with joy. He had no idea how he had managed to move from his cupboard to such a nice place with friendly people, and he liked the other boy very much. He seemed to be much nicer than Dudley, and he still hadn't called him a freak even once. Wondering what the thing was that he could see in Severus' drawing, he slowly began to draw his own picture.

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_I am not a native speaker of English. So please excuse my mistakes!_

_All recognizable characters belong to J.K.Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Suddenly, Harry noticed that Severus was shivering. "Severus, are you all right?" he whispered cautiously, afraid that the boy would become angry at him if he asked.

"No," Severus replied, tiredly leaning his head on Harry's shoulder.

"I think Severus is feeling sick," Harry called out to Albus, who was so engrossed in his work that he didn't hear the boys' whispered conversation so far.

Albus sat next to Severus on the edge of the sofa and carefully felt his forehead. "You seem a bit warm, Severus. Do you want to lie down in your bed, hmm?"

"No, I want to stay here with you and Harry," Severus whispered, closing his eyes.

"Then let me take your temperature, child; just to be sure that you don't have a bad fever." Albus summoned the thermometer from the children's room, noticing the mix of horror and amusement in Harry's eyes when he watched the thing move from their room straight into Albus' outstretched hand. Of course he had seen Poppy doing magic earlier that day, but he had been too dizzy and unwell from the aging potion to properly notice what was happening.

Albus carefully stuck the thermometer under Severus' armpit, before he conjured a cool cloth and began to bathe the child's flushed face. "Harry, are you feeling all right?" he asked the boy in a small voice in order not to disturb Severus.

"I'm fine," Harry whispered back uncomfortably. He wasn't used to others enquire about how he felt.

"Are you sure, my child?" Albus asked again and put a hand on Harry's forehead. "You feel slightly warm too, but it's not too bad I think. Otherwise you must tell me immediately, do you understand me?"

"Yes," Harry whispered anxiously, giving Albus an astonished glance when the thermometer beeped.

"That means that the reading is finished," Albus told him and pulled the glassy thing back from under Severus' armpit. "39.5," he read, frowning. "Severus, I'm sorry, but I have to put you to bed. You are too ill to be up at the moment." He scooped the child up in his arms and carried him into the children's room. When he laid him down on the bed, tucking him in carefully, he saw that Harry was lingering at the doorframe.

"Why don't you come in and keep Severus company for a while, Harry, hmm?" he invited the child gently.

Harry happily stepped over to Severus' bed and hesitantly sat down on the edge of the bed. Albus handed him the cool cloth and asked, "Would you stay with Severus for a while and wipe his face from time to time? If he gets worse or you don't feel well, call me please."

"All right," Harry replied, feeling very happy to be able to care for his new friend, and carefully began to bathe Severus' face, glad when he heard Severus mumble, "feels good."

After a while Harry became tired, and he didn't feel too well either due to the after effects of the aging potion that made his joints ache again now that Poppy's potion was wearing off. He laid his head, which was sore as well due to the slight temperature he was having, next to Severus on the bed, and when Minerva returned from her morning lessons at lunchtime, she found both children peacefully asleep next to each other.

"I wonder if Harry is getting sick too," she said, entering Albus' office.

"Why is that, my dear?" Albus enquired, smiling at his best friend.

"He is fast asleep on the bed next to Severus. Normally, six-year old children don't take naps, Albus."

"When I asked him if he was feeling sick, he told me he was fine."

Minerva let out a snort. "Who knows what his relatives told him if he complained? Not being allowed to eat at the table. Have you heard that before, Albus? I will take his temperature; maybe I'm wrong. Albus, why don't you go to the Great Hall for lunch? I will eat something here and look after the boys."

While Albus headed for the Great Hall, Minerva returned to the children's side and carefully felt Harry's forehead, causing Harry to wake up with a jolt.

"I'm sorry," he began to whisper an apology, making Minerva frown.

"Harry, you don't have to apologize at all. If you're tired or unwell, you should lie down and sleep; that's all right."

"Yes, but I promised to look after Severus; he's sick," Harry replied, horrified that he had neglected his duties in spite of being allowed to look after Severus.

"Harry, I believe that you have a slight fever too," Minerva replied softly, "Can you open your mouth for me, so that I can take your temperature?"

Harry gave the woman a hesitant nod and anxiously opened his mouth, allowing her to stick the thermometer in. "Harry, you will probably get the same illness that Severus has," she began to explain patiently; "therefore we have to watch you closely. If you don't feel well, we want you to tell us." She quietly took the thermometer back, placing it on the night table. "You have a bit of a fever, 38.3," she told Harry. "Is your throat sore as well?"

"No, only my head and my arms and legs and so," Harry whispered back hesitantly. "But it's not so bad."

"I believe that it is quite bad if it causes you to feel unwell and get a fever, Harry," Minerva replied softly. "Why don't you lie down on your bed for a while?" She gently helped the child lie down in his own bed, glad that the house elves had already taken the bars off Harry's bed.

"Thanks, feels good," mumbled Harry, when Minerva tucked him in and placed a cool cloth on his forehead.

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The two boys slept through the entire afternoon until they both woke up by Severus' coughing. In a blink, Harry was at Severus' side, noticing that he felt much better now. "Severus, are you all right? Shall I call Albus?" he asked worriedly.

"No thanks, I want to get up and finish my picture," Severus replied. "Have you already finished yours?"

"No, I just got up," Harry replied and happily ran back into Albus' office, closely followed by Severus. Fortunately, the two pictures were still on the table.

Minerva and Albus, who were having a conversation at Albus' desk, looked up when the two boys stormed into the room. "Not so fast, young men," Minerva scolded the children, worried that they might aggravate their condition. "You should not run as long as you're not completely well."

"Are you feeling better, my boys?" Albus enquired softly, walking over to the sofa.

"Yes," Severus and Harry replied at the same time, causing both of them to laugh heartily.

Albus sat down next to Severus and placed a hand on his forehead, before he checked on Harry too. "Severus, you are still quite warm. Are you sure that you feel well enough to be up for a while?"

"Yes, and I want to finish my picture," Severus croaked and engrossed himself into his drawing.

Harry as well turned back to his drawing, a happy smile playing on his lips. Twenty minutes later, Severus stated, "Finished," causing Harry to look up from his work and throw Severus' picture a curious glance. "What is that?" he asked interestedly.

Severus looked at him astonished. "That's you," he explained, pointing to one of the two children in the picture, "that's me, and that's our cauldron, in which we brew a potion."

"Wow," Harry said, completely amazed. "It's absolutely gorgeous," he commended the other boy.

'_If he likes it so much, maybe I should give it to him. Nobody ever liked my pictures, especially not when I drew a cauldron_,' Severus thought and pushed the picture over to Harry. "You can have it if you wish."

"Really?" Harry asked eagerly, hesitantly pulling Severus into a light hug. "Thank you so much. I never received a present before, and it's very pretty!" He pushed his own picture of Severus and him drawing pictures over to Severus. "You can have mine then."

"Thanks!" Severus replied happily. "Is that me? And that are you?" he asked hoarsely, causing Harry to give him a confirming nod.

None of them noticed the two adults watching them in amused concern.

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In the morning, Severus woke up by someone climbing into his bed. He noticed immediately that he didn't feel well at all. His head and his throat were still very sore, and his whole body felt achy and icky. Nevertheless, he pulled the slightly smaller figure close into his arms, noticing that Harry was silently sobbing. He carefully put up a small slender hand to Harry's face that felt cold to the touch and stroked his cheeks. "Harry, what's wrong? Are you sick too?"

Harry vehemently shook his head and started to cry even more, trying hard not to make a noise in order not to make the other boy angry, especially since he noticed that Severus still felt very hot to the touch. He just slowly began to confide into Severus, when Minerva entered the room.

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_One of the reviewers found that my Severus was acting too mature for a six year old. I just want you to know that I have two boys, six and seven years old, and I am writing my stories from my own experiences with my children - well, every child is different of course ;-)_

_I am not a native speaker of English. So please excuse my mistakes!_

_All recognizable characters belong to J.K.Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"Good morning boys," Minerva addressed Severus and Harry gently. "What's wrong?" she asked in concern, seeing that Harry was lying in Severus' arm crying soundlessly.

"As far as I could understand him, he had a bad dream," Severus explained, sounding very hoarse.

"Oh, my poor children," Minerva cooed, sitting down on the edge of Severus' bed. "Harry, can you tell us what was in your dream?"

"Yes please, Harry," Severus croaked, giving Harry a comforting smile that didn't really reach his eyes.

While Harry slowly began to tell them about the bad man, who threw a green light around the room, killing his mummy, Minerva worriedly felt Severus' forehead and stuck the thermometer into his mouth. "Oh, my poor child," she said and pulled Harry up into her lap, carefully stroking his cheeks. "That was a really bad dream, sweetie. I knew your mummy very well, and I liked her a lot. I'm glad that you resemble your wonderful mummy so much."

Severus noticed that tears welled in the woman's eyes and he couldn't help feel sorry for his new friend. '_If I just didn't feel so icky today_,' he thought, uncomfortably shifting in his bed. "Poor Severus, you seem to feel really unwell today," Minerva's concerned voice penetrated his mind, and he gave the nice woman a short nod.

Harry immediately slid down from Minerva's lap and knelt in front of Severus on the floor. "I'm sorry, Severus, for waking you up although you're so sick," he apologized in a small voice.

"It's all right, Harry. It's morning, and Severus would have woken up anyway," Minerva said soothingly, knowing that Severus couldn't reply at the moment. She finally took the thermometer back and announced, "39.8; Severus, I'm afraid you'll have to stay in bed until your fever comes down a bit. Do you think you'll be able to eat a bit of soup, sweetie?"

"No," Severus croaked painfully.

"All right, then I will give you a nutrient potion instead. I'll be back in a minute," Minerva told the boy and left the room, returning a short while later with three phials. She sat down next to Severus, helped him to sit up, and made him drink his potions. "Now try to sleep for a while," she said softly, while she gently made him lie down again.

"Can you read me a story?" Severus asked hesitantly, feeling a little better now that the potions started to work.

"I'm sorry, but I have to teach classes, sweetie, but I'm going to wake Albus and I'm sure he'll read something for you," Minerva said apologizing, adjusted the cool cloth to Severus' forehead, and stood up.

"I can read to Severus," Harry spoke up hesitantly. "I mean I can't read very well, but I'll try, and..." He slowly trailed off.

"Oh yes please, Harry; thanks," Severus croaked, nestling deeper under his covers.

While Minerva left the room, giving Harry a grateful smile, Harry stepped in front of the book shelf and searched for a book that Severus would like. Finally, he found one with a cauldron on the cover similar to the one Severus had drawn the day before. He sat down on the edge of Severus' bed and slowly began to read. "Is it all right like this?" he asked anxiously when he finished the first page.

"It's brilliant, go on quickly," Severus replied, smiling at Harry.

The children were so engrossed in the story, in which a small boy went to a wizarding primary school where he learned everything about potions and tried to brew potions that always ended up having strange effects, that they didn't notice Albus enter the room and leave with a twinkle in his eyes.

'_This is really funny_,' Severus thought, enjoying himself very much. '_It's not so bad to be ill if nobody shouts at me for being a lazybones and if I have a brother, who reads funny stories to me_,' he mused in spite of feeling awful.

Harry gave his best to read the story flawlessly, so that Severus wouldn't laugh about his bad reading and so that he could enjoy the story. After a while he noticed that his throat was getting scratchy. However, seeing the smile that was playing on Severus' mouth, he just couldn't stop reading and continued until the very end of the story.

"Thanks," Severus mumbled and lazily closed his eyes, drifting off to sleep immediately.

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When he was sure that his friend was asleep, Harry got up and quietly left the room for Albus' office. "Good morning," he greeted the friendly old man, before he hesitantly asked, "May I have some water, sir?"

Albus waved his wand, conjuring a goblet full of pumpkin juice, and handed it to Harry. "Try this, my boy, this is pumpkin juice. I heard you read to Severus, and you did that very well. I'm very proud of you, child."

Harry's slightly anxious expression changed into a huge smile. "Thank you," he breathed to the gentle man, taking a nip of his pumpkin juice. "This is delicious," he whispered, looking up at Albus with wide eyes. Never before had he tasted something so nice before.

"Now Harry, shall we ask the house elves for breakfast? You must be very hungry," Albus suggested, frowning when Harry quietly shook his head.

"No thanks, I'm not hungry," he replied, letting out a small cough.

Albus quickly walked around his desk and stepped over to the child, placing a hand on his forehead. "Are you feeling unwell, Harry?" he asked, noticing that he felt a bit warm to the touch.

"I'm all right," Harry gave back in a small voice, averting his eyes to the floor.

Albus gently put an arm around the boy's shoulder, leading him to the sofa. In spite of beginning to feel sick, Harry smiled a bit when Albus summoned the thermometer from the children's room. However, when Albus motioned him to open his mouth so that he could take his temperature, he couldn't help letting out a series of harsh coughs, causing the man to stick the thermometer under his armpit instead. Albus pulled Harry close, gently stroking his warm cheeks.

"Do you like it here, Harry?" he asked softly.

"Yes," Harry replied enthusiastically, coughing again. "It's like in heaven; I like it very much," he whispered, giving the friendly old man a smile.

"Do you like Severus, child?"

"Yes, he is very nice, not at all like Dudley and his friends. He didn't call me 'freak' at all," Harry gave back in a small voice.

Albus carefully pushed back an errand strand of hair from Harry's forehead and told the child, "I hope that you'll get along well; you both have so much in common, and he is just as good a boy as you are. I love you both very much."

"Thanks," Harry replied miserably, trying to put a smile on his face.

"You mustn't try to hide if you're feeling bad," Albus admonished him lightly, taking the thermometer back. "You have a fever, Harry, 38.7. I will give you a few potions, and then you'll decide if you want to lie down or stay here."

Harry obediently swallowed the potions and noticed that he felt better immediately. "I think I like potions too," he informed Albus in a slightly hoarse voice. "May I sit here and draw another picture?" he asked hesitantly.

"Of course my boy," Albus replied and conjured crayons and a few parchments for Harry, before he slowly went into the children's room to look after Severus.

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Severus woke up when he felt a cold hand sticking something into his armpit. He sleepily tried to push the hand away but heard Albus voice, "No Severus, I have to take your temperature."

He lazily opened his eyes and croaked, "Harry?"

"Harry is on the sofa in my office, drawing a picture. He is sick as well," Albus informed him, gently bathing the child's flushed face with the cool cloth. "How are you feeling, my boy?"

"A bit better," Severus croaked. "May I sit with Harry and draw too?"

"Let's see how high your fever is," Albus replied kindly. "Still 39 degrees," he told the child a few minutes later. "Wait a few minutes until the potion takes effect, and then you may sit with Harry if you feel well enough."

Harry let out a weary smile, when Severus sat down next to him. "What are you drawing, Harry?" he asked interestedly, seeing a tall man in black clothes standing behind a cauldron, apparently trying to teach a small boy how to brew a potion.

"I don't know, I don't feel good," Harry mumbled and dizzily leaned on to Severus, shivering vehemently.

"Albus, you must come," Severus quickly called out to Albus, who stepped over to the two boys in concern.

* * *

_I am not a native speaker of English. So please excuse my mistakes!_

_All recognizable characters belong to J.K.Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"What's wrong, Harry?" Albus asked, taking in the boys flushed cheeks.

"He seems to be burning up, sir," Severus informed him, knowing that Harry had to be very hot if he even felt hot to his own feverish hands.

Albus quickly sat down on Harry's other side and conjured a second thermometer, knowing that the one he had was never there, where he needed it. Confirming that the child's skin was in fact extremely hot, he took his temperature once more. "40.8," he gasped. "Harry, hold on for a moment, I'm going to call Poppy. She will make you feel better in a blink."

"Where is our grown-up Severus, when I need him?" Poppy mumbled, more to herself than to the others. "He could easily tell us what happened by using Legilimency. He has the wizard's measles, but that doesn't explain his high fever. What happened?"

Seeing that Harry remained irresponsive, shivering in Severus' arm, Albus explained, "He was drawing this picture, Poppy. Do you think that he remembers something?"

"That shouldn't be possible; however, it could be a vision, which might have caused his fever to spike like that. Severus, do you know what happened?"

"No, I just came and asked what that was, and he told me he didn't know and he was feeling unwell," Severus croaked.

"I will give him a cool bath to get his fever down," Poppy said determinedly and scooped Harry up in her arms, carrying him over to the children's bathroom, Albus and Severus on her heals. Ignoring the child's shivering, she kept him in the bathtub until his fever came down a degree. Then she dried him with a wave of her wand and gently laid him down on his bed. Seeing that Harry fell into a restless sleep, she turned to Severus and quickly checked on him.

"Oh my poor sweetie," she said, "you're getting the red spots all over your arms and legs. Lie down on your bed please, and I will put some healing salve on the spots so that you won't feel so icky."

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When Harry woke up late in the afternoon, Minerva was sitting on the edge of Severus' bed applying the healing salve to his arms, legs, and stomach, where the spots had started as well. Harry quickly scrambled out of his bed and knelt in front of Severus, giving the red spots a horrified look. "Does it hurt?" he asked softly.

Severus shook his head. "No, it doesn't hurt, but it feels icky."

"Harry, are you feeling better?" Minerva asked, worriedly feeling his forehead.

"Yes, much better. Does Severus still have to stay in bed?" Harry asked. "Or can we play something?"

"Do you like puzzles, boys?" Minerva questioned, causing Harry to give Severus an enquiring glance.

"I like puzzles," Severus replied, explaining to Harry, "They have lots of pieces and you must put them together. But do we have one here?"

As soon as Minerva finished applying the salve on Severus' skin, she pulled a tissue out of her robe pocket and transfigured it into a Jigsaw puzzle with five hundred pieces. It showed Hogwarts in front of the lake with many different magical animals and students in funny clothing running around the grounds. Students could also be seen at most of the windows.

"It looks funny," Harry laughed happily.

"Is that Hogwarts?" Severus asked pensively. "I have seen a similar picture before."

"Yes, my dear boys; that's Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the school where we are here. If you go into Albus' office and look out of the window, you can see the lake," Minerva explained patiently and went ahead into the office, where she put the jigsaw on the table in front of the sofa.

The two boys followed immediately and sat down on the sofa, breaking the puzzle up into its pieces in order to start from the beginning. Harry glanced at Severus uncertainly but soon was fully engrossed helping his friend to find the edges. Minerva sat down at Albus' desk near the headmaster, and both teachers watched the children amused. "It's amazing how well they get along," Minerva whispered to Albus.

"That's true; however, I'm very worried about what happened with Harry this morning," Albus whispered back, "especially as we don't know what exactly happened. If it was a vision or something, it could happen again any time."

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"I would so like to go and have a look at the lake," Harry whispered to Severus. "Do you think they will let us go there some time?"

"I think we cannot go out because we're sick," Severus replied thoughtfully. "But I'd like that too. We can ask Minerva or Albus."

Seeing that Harry gave him a frightened look, Severus raised his voice and asked hoarsely, "Harry and I would like to go to the lake. May we go there some time?"

While Albus gave the two boys a fond smile, Minerva answered, "Tomorrow morning the students will leave for the summer holidays. If you feel well enough to go out and don't have such a high fever, then we will take you out to the lake, all right?"

"Yes!" Severus and Harry beamed. "Thank you," Harry added in a small voice.

"Minerva," Albus spoke up thoughtfully, "The leaving feast is going to start in twenty minutes, and we both should be present. I suggest that we take both boys with us to the Great Hall tonight, provided that they are well enough."

Minerva walked over to the boys, who were still engrossed in their jigsaw. "Severus and Harry, how are you feeling?" she asked softly.

"A bit icky, but it's all right," Severus replied hesitantly.

Harry gave Minerva an anxious glance and croaked, "Fine."

Albus came over, handed Minerva a thermometer, and stuck the other into Severus' mouth, while Minerva coaxed Harry into opening his mouth as well. Glancing at Severus, Harry complied too. "Today is the leaving feast, because the school year is over and the students go home for the summer holidays. Minerva and I would like to take you to the Great Hall to have dinner together with all the teachers and students."

Seeing that Harry and Severus were exchanging anxious looks, Minerva added, "You don't have to be afraid; you'll sit at the head table between Albus and me. 38.8 and 39.1," she read, taking both thermometers out. "Are you both feeling well enough to go? If you feel worse, we can return here any time."

"It could be fun," Severus told Harry, giggling a bit while he tried to scratch his left shoulder.

"No Severus, try not to scratch yourself please," Albus reprimanded him softly. "All right, Minerva. I believe our little angels need some new clothes. So far, all they have are pyjamas, my dear."

"What are your favourite colours, Severus and Harry?" Minerva asked the children.

"Green," Severus answered, letting out a small cough.

"Blue," Harry followed immediately.

"Very well," Minerva replied and conjured green robes, followed by exactly the same robes in blue. Then she pointed her wand at Severus, exchanging his pyjamas into light trousers with a matching T-shirt and repeated the transfiguration with Harry's pyjamas.

A few minutes later, both boys were standing in front of the door in their new robes. "These are too funny," Harry giggled, ending up in a coughing fit.

As soon as Harry had calmed down again, Albus ushered them down the stairs and led them into the Great Hall, where he motioned them to sit at the head table between Minerva and himself. About half way through the meal, Harry suddenly noticed that he had to go to the toilet. He blushed deeply and hesitantly whispered to Minerva, "I'm sorry but I got to go wee-wee."

Minerva gave him a huge smile and replied softly, "That's no problem, Harry. Just follow me." She led Harry out of the Great Hall and to the nearby toilets. On their way back along the Gryffindor table, Harry felt very self-conscious because many students turned around and greeted him, "Hello Harry." Suddenly, he heard one of the big boys say, "Why did the greasy git have to give Harry detention brewing a de-aging potion? I really hate Snape. Maybe they could leave him as a six-year old."

Harry's mind was doing flip-flops and he wearily followed Minerva back to his seat. He suddenly saw himself sitting in front of a bubbling cauldron, being hissed at by the tall teacher, who was standing behind his desk, "Potter, you dunderhead, what do you think you're doing?"

* * *

_Since several people asked in their reviews: This story will probably not contain slash. However, I'm not going to tell you yet what kind of relationship Severus and Harry are going to have later in the story!_

_I am not a native speaker of English. So please excuse my mistakes!_

_All recognizable characters belong to J.K.Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Instantly, Harry began to feel horrible and wearily leaned on to Minerva, putting his aching head on her lap. "Minerva, give him to me; I will take him to his room and look after him," Poppy spoke up taking Harry from Minerva.

"May I go with Harry and Madam Pomfrey?" Severus asked, and when Albus slightly nodded his head, he followed the Healer out of the hall, causing the students to laugh, when they noticed that his small, green robes were billowing behind him.

"What's wrong with Harry?" Severus enquired, worriedly watching while Poppy waved her wand over his friend.

"I'm not sure, Severus. He has a very high fever, and it would be the best if we just let him sleep for the night," Poppy replied softly, spelling a fever reducer straight into the child's stomach.

Severus gave Harry an intense glare. '_Show me what made you so sick again, Harry_,' he thought, trying to focus on his friend's eyes like his mother had taught him to do a few times, and suddenly, a memory appeared in front of his mind.

'_What was that?_' he mused, feeling completely distressed.

"Severus, are you feeling all right?" Poppy's voice penetrated his mind.

"Harry saw something strange I think," Severus replied uncomfortably.

"Did you see what made Harry so sick?" Poppy enquired, alerted by the boy's words.

Severus gave her a small nod but didn't know how he could show the scene to the nice lady. Poppy pondered if she should retrieve Albus' Pensieve but dismissed the thought when she checked on Severus and noticed that his fever had climbed up to nearly forty degrees as well. "Well, you can show the memory to Albus later," she said soothingly and made Severus lie down on his bed so that she could apply the healing salve on his spots, which had already spread all over his body except for his face.

She hadn't yet finished applying the salve completely, when Severus followed Harry into a feverish slumber.

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A few hours later, Severus woke up coughing vehemently. He noticed that kind hands helped him sit up a bit so that he could breathe easier. Lazily opening his eyes, he saw Albus leaning over him, while Minerva was sitting on the edge of Harry's bed. "I know what made Harry sick again," he told the adults hoarsely, "but I don't know how I can let you see."

"So you're a natural Legilimens," Albus commended him amazed. "Would you mind me looking into your mind for the memory?"

"All right, sir," Severus replied and looked straight into the man's eyes.

Albus entered the child's mind very carefully in order not to hurt him and let Severus show himself the memory. "Thank you, my boy; you did that extremely well; thank you for being such a good friend to Harry."

A small smile played on the child's lips when he slowly drifted back to sleep. Albus turned back to Minerva, a worried expression on his face. "When you walked behind the Gryffindor table with Harry, he heard Mr. Weasley say something about Professor Snape and that we should let him stay a six-year old. That obviously triggered a memory of the older Severus calling Harry a dunderhead during the Potions class."

"Do you think Harry still has his memories of his older self?" Minerva enquired, carefully bathing the child's hot face with a cool cloth.

"His memories, which obviously have to be somewhere deep in his mind, apparently can be triggered. However, it causes Harry to really feel bad afterwards."

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When Albus entered his office in the morning, both children were sitting on the sofa doing their jigsaw. "Good morning, my boys," he greeted them pleasantly. "How are you on this fine morning?"

"Fine," Harry replied.

"All right," Severus echoed. "Can we go out to the lake, please?"

Albus sighed, just when Minerva entered the room. Having heard Severus' last sentence, she replied sternly, "That depends on your condition, Severus. Are you feeling better today?"

"I just got up and didn't check on them yet," Albus admitted.

"Then I will do that now," Minerva replied, ushered the children back into their room, where she took their temperature and applied the healing cream to Severus' skin.

"Thank you, feels good," Severus mumbled gratefully, when she took the thermometer out of his mouth.

"I believe that; the spots really seem to be icky," Minerva agreed. "Now let's see if Harry has already got any." She sat down on the edge of Harry's bed, taking his thermometer back as well, and nodded contentedly. "You may both get up if you feel well enough. Now let me take your pyjamas off and have a look, sweetie, all right?"

Harry gave her a shy look, shivering a little when cool hands touched his skin. Severus quickly scrambled out of his bed and knelt in front of Harry's bed to help Minerva look for red spots. "Here," he said, pointing to the bend of Harry's elbow, "It's starting. Don't you feel icky, Harry?"

"Yes, a little," Harry admitted in a small voice.

"Oh my poor child," Minerva cooed, while she applied the healing salve. "Harry, you must tell us when you feel unwell, so that we can help you."

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Twenty minutes later, the children were dressed and the 'family' was sitting in Minerva's small kitchen having breakfast. Severus scrunched his face when Minerva made him drink his milk. "May I brew fruit syrup to put in our milk later?" he asked, giving Minerva and Albus a pleading glance. "That makes our milk taste much better."

"Do you know which ingredients you need and how to brew it, my boy?" Albus asked gently.

"Of course I know that," Severus replied indignantly, turning to Harry. "Will you help me, Harry?"

"Of course," Harry replied shyly, "if you tell me what I have to do."

"I show you, it's very yummy," Severus promised, smiling at his friend.

"All right, if you're finished with your breakfast, go and do your jigsaw for a minute and let me have a word with Minerva," Albus told the children, causing Severus to dash away, followed closely by Harry.

"What do you think, Min? Shall we let them brew? I believe that Severus already knows what he is doing. The only problem that I can see is that it might trigger further memories if we take them to the Potions classroom, and I don't want Harry to feel so bad again so soon."

"That's a big problem," Minerva agreed.

"Then we should take them to Severus' private lab, even if I don't know if Severus will approve of that when he's back to his normal age later on."

"Well, he just has to approve. He will understand that he wanted to brew, but that we couldn't take Harry to the classroom; moreover, according to Poppy it will take about three weeks until they'll be completely back to health so that we can give them the aging potion, and we won't be able to keep him away from a cauldron for three weeks," Minerva replied, smirking.

"All right, then let's take the boys there," Albus finished the conversation and strode back into his office. "Now, shall we go, so that you can brew your potion?" he addressed the boys.

"I have to see the students off, but I'll follow you as soon as they're gone," Minerva excused herself, while Albus took the children into Severus' private quarters.

Severus and Harry looked around in amazement. "Wow, this room is huge and very pretty," Harry said shyly, loving how the book shelves were surrounding the large room that was not too dark in spite of being in the dungeons."

"Yes it is," Albus agreed. "However, these are the private quarters of our Potions Master, and we shouldn't linger here while he's away. Behind this door is his private lab and I hope he won't mind us using it for a moment." He opened the door and let the children into the room, causing Severus to let out a huge gasp.

"Wow, this place is just gorgeous! I want to become the Potions master of Hogwarts when I'm all grown-up and big!" he exclaimed excitedly.

* * *

_I am not a native speaker of English. So please excuse my mistakes!_

_All recognizable characters belong to J.K.Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

"I will see to it, my boy," Albus promised gently. "Now, Severus, do you know exactly what you want to brew, which ingredients you need, and how you have to brew the potion? Let me tell you that I won't be able to help if you encounter any problems. I'm a complete dunderhead at brewing as our current Potions master told me a few times."

"Oh, that's rude," Severus replied and motioned Harry over to the shelf, where the ingredients were lined up. "Ah, everything is sorted alphabetically within the class of ingredients, that's great; so we can find everything easily. Can you look for mint and moon fern? They should be over here," he instructed Harry, who hurried to comply, although he had no idea what these names meant.

"What do you prefer, strawberry or banana?" Severus asked, while they were gathering the ingredients, causing Harry to shrug helplessly.

"All right, then we will brew both," Severus decided, and asked Albus, "Could you please ask the house elves for one banana and ten small strawberries please?" Not waiting for an answer, he pulled two cauldrons onto a table and diligently set them up, so that they could start. "Well, at first we have to prepare the ingredients," he told Harry, showing him how to cut the moon fern into small pieces. While Harry set to work obediently, Severus quickly prepared the other ingredients, and Albus watched amazed how adept Severus was even at his young age.

As soon as the ingredients were ready, Severus told Harry, "Now you will do exactly what I do, all right? Until we insert the strawberries and the bananas, it is the same. You have to be careful in which direction you stir, that's very important."

Harry carefully copied Severus' every move, and Albus thought, '_He seems nearly as adept as Severus in spite of the fact that he doesn't know what he's doing_.'

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Thirty minutes later, the boys had cleaned up their working space perfectly, and each of them was carrying a phial on their way back to the headmaster's office.

When they passed the entrance hall, the last students were just leaving the castle, and Albus quickly ushered his children up the staircase. "Now shall we ask the house elves for a glass of milk for each of you?" he asked pleasantly, when they reached his office.

"No thank you," Severus replied hoarsely. "I'd like to lie down for a bit."

"Me too," Harry echoed and followed Severus into their room.

When Albus went to check on them after reading a letter, he found both boys fast asleep in their beds. He sat on the edge of Severus' bed for a while, taking in that their cheeks were flushed and their foreheads were covered with sweat. "My poor boys," he mumbled while he carefully adjusted a cool cloth to their foreheads. Then he quietly retreated to his office to get some work done.

Severus woke up a few hours later, feeling absolutely miserable. His face, where he didn't have red spots so far, felt icky too, and he had a terrible headache. "Harry, are you awake?" he croaked miserably.

Harry woke up by his friend's talking and lazily stepped over to his bed, feeling horrible as well. "What's wrong?" he whispered hoarsely, sitting down on the edge of Severus' bed.

"Do I have a rash on my face now as well?" Severus asked and averted his eyes to Harry, noticing that he was shivering badly. "Ah, come here under my cover," he motioned him to lie down.

Harry thankfully complied and gave Severus a piercing look. "Yes, it's starting in your face too. Shall I apply the cream to the spots?" he offered, sitting up once more. He reached out for the cream and gently applied it to Severus' face, causing his friend to sigh in relief.

"Thanks Harry," he mumbled gratefully. "How are you feeling?"

"Not so good," Harry replied, coughing.

"Nor do I. Let's try to sleep a bit more."

When Minerva and Albus came to look after the children, they couldn't believe their eyes. "When did they manage to end up in the same bed? When I checked on them earlier, Harry was in his own bed," Albus asked confused.

Minerva sighed. "Just look at them, Albus. Severus has white spots in his face over the rash that obviously started on his cheeks and nose. I assume Harry noticed that and applied the salve, but tired as he was he just lay down and fell asleep."

"Ah, well, such things are only for mothers to understand," Albus replied, chuckling.

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While both children willingly remained in bed for the rest of the day, which the adults approved greatly since both of them had quite a fever, in the morning, Severus and Harry felt much better and begged their guardians to take them out to the lake.

"Let's see what we can do; but we must check on you first," Albus replied sternly, sitting down on the edge of Severus' bed, while Minerva went over to Harry.

"I like it when you apply the cream to me," Harry whispered to Minerva gratefully. "It feels so good on my skin, and your hands are so soft."

"Thank you, my child. I'm glad that I can make you feel better," Minerva replied and exchanged the cream with the phial of fever reducing potion, which she held to his lips.

"May I skip breakfast today?" Harry whispered. "I'm not hungry."

"Do you want to stay in bed, Harry? Do don't feel well, do you?" Minerva asked worriedly, before she turned to Albus. "His fever was exactly 39.0, so I don't know if it's a good idea to take them out to the lake. How is Severus?"

"38.2; strange that it goes up and down like that, but Poppy told us before it would, didn't she? Maybe we could hold a picnic next to the lake instead of eating breakfast inside," he suggested.

"Yes please," Harry said hoarsely, feeling slightly better now that the potion had taken effect.

Half an hour later, the four headed out onto the grounds and were spontaneously joined by Poppy and Rolanda, whom they met in the entrance hall. Noticing that Harry wasn't feeling too well, Minerva scooped him up in her arms and carried him to a spot just next to the lake, where they often used to hold picnics when the students were gone during the summer.

"I don't know if it was a good idea to bring Harry out here," Poppy lightly reprimanded Minerva, seeing that the child was sitting next to her, tiredly leaning into her arm.

"Harry, you have to taste that," Severus suddenly exclaimed, pulling the phials with the potions, which they had brewed the day before, out of his robe pockets. "Which do you want to try first? Banana or strawberry?"

"Strawberry please," Harry replied quietly, leaning interestedly forward to see how his milk changed its colour as Severus added a few drops of the potion.

After both boys had eaten a few bites, Rolanda stood up. "Now, shall we throw stones into the lake?"

"Oh yes," Severus agreed immediately, and Harry eagerly nodded his head.

"Rolanda," Minerva motioned her friend over. "They are not allowed to run around since they are both feverish, especially Harry."

"All right," Rolanda replied, nodding, before she ran after the boys, who were already close to the water choosing stones.

"You have to choose flat stones, Harry," Severus just explained. "They'll be able to pop onto the water several times before the fall in."

Harry gave him a weary look but obediently looked for flat stones, turning back his attention to his friend when Severus showed him how to throw a stone. "No, that wasn't right," Severus muttered, looking up to Rolanda. "Can you show me once more, please?"

"Of course," Rolanda replied smiling and threw her stone, so that it popped onto the water ten times.

"Wow, that was brilliant," Severus croaked and tried once more, managing to make his stone pop six times.

"That was fantastic," Harry whispered amazed, before he tried to throw his own stone. Unfortunately, the movement caused him to feel very dizzy, and he didn't even notice that his stone popped on the water three times, nor did he hear Severus and Rolanda commend him. "Severus, I don't feel good," he said hurriedly, but before Severus and Rolanda, who both immediately stepped over to him, could reach him, he swayed and fell backwards into the lake.

* * *

_I am not a native speaker of English. So please excuse my mistakes!_

_All recognizable characters belong to J.K.Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

"You stay here!" Rolanda ordered Severus and quickly jumped into the cold water after Harry.

Too shocked to hear her advice, Severus ran back to the spot, where Minerva, Poppy, and Albus were talking to each other animatedly, and croaked, "Help! Harry fell into the lake!"

Minerva quickly scooped the obviously distressed boy up into her arms before she hurried after the others. When she arrived at the spot where Rolanda was diving after Harry, Albus was already talking to the Giant Squid, asking him to rescue the child, and a minute later, the Giant Squid heaved Harry and Rolanda out of the water. While Albus thanked the large animal profoundly, Minerva threw a drying spell on Rolanda, and Poppy looked after Harry.

"What exactly happened?" Poppy asked, looking from Severus to Rolanda, who quickly filled her in. "Well, I think he'll be all right. If he gets a cold, you have to call me, since we have to prevent him from getting anything worse. He has quite a fever anyway." She sat down with Harry on her lap and pressed a phial against his lips. "Drink, sweetie; then you'll feel better," she told him gently, and remembering that potions were good, Harry obeyed immediately.

"No running around anymore today, Harry. You must lie down and rest," Poppy told Harry sternly.

"All right," Harry whispered back and exhaustedly closed his eyes, curling up on Poppy's lap.

Suddenly, Severus stepped over to Harry, knelt down beside him, and placed a kiss on his forehead. "I'm glad that you're all right, Harry. I was very scared."

While Harry drifted away in a much needed sleep, a small smile was playing on his lips.

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In the evening, when both children were finally asleep, Albus and Minerva retired to the headmaster's office to have some tea together, knowing that Poppy and Rolanda, who were the only staff members apart from themselves staying at the castle during the holidays, would join them later on. "I have an idea," Albus told Minerva. "I'd like to conjure a train set for them like the Hogwarts Express with rails, two stations and everything they need to play with it."

"Oh Albus, that's a great idea," Minerva agreed immediately, took a lemon drop from his desk, and transfigured it into the engine of the Hogwarts Express.

"Brilliant, my dear," Albus commended, taking the small train into his hands. "Can you make the other wagons as well, please? Then I'll do the rails."

When Poppy and Rolanda arrived two hours later, the two teachers were sitting on the floor, totally engrossed in playing with the train set. "Oh, did you put the children to bed early, so that you could play with their toys?" Rolanda commentated, while Poppy couldn't help laughing.

"Let me tell you something," Minerva replied in her crisp voice she normally used for students, who were in trouble. "We just put a lot of work in the transfiguration of this train set, and you'll surely understand that we have to try it out before we let the children play with it."

"Exactly," Albus agreed, his eyes twinkling merrily. "And guess what it is transfigured from." He threw Poppy and Rolanda a challenging look.

Poppy looked around and sighed. "Normally, Minerva would use tissues, but considering the fact that we are in your office, Albus, and seeing the twinkle in your eyes, it can only be lemon drops."

"Correct," Albus grinned, while Rolanda sat on the floor, pushing the train back to Minerva.

"I think you still need a bridge," Poppy said thoughtfully, before she took a lemon drop and transfigured it into a huge bridge. "Good riddance of the lemon drops," she said to Minerva in a low voice, causing her friend to snort.

"Exactly," Minerva replied dryly, just when a tear-stricken Severus came around the corner, his eyes only half open, and walked straight into Minerva, who pulled him up on her arm and sat down on the sofa, placing the small boy on her lap. "What's wrong, Sevvie?" she asked softly, gently wiping the tears from his face.

"I saw a bad dream," Severus replied in a very small voice. "May I sleep here on the sofa?"

"Yes, you may stay here for a while," Minerva replied softly. "Do you want to speak about your dream?"

"No," Severus replied anxiously, and his lower lip began to quiver in fright."

"Do you want Albus to watch the memory? It might help you if you share it with others," Minerva explained, and seeing his apprehensive expression, she continued, "Do you remember when Harry had a nightmare and told us about it? He was very relieved after he told you and me about his dream."

"Yeah, that's right," Severus replied thoughtfully. '_Maybe I should let them see my dream. But won't father be very angry?_' "I'm not sure, but I think my father would be very angry," he whispered.

"No Severus, I don't think so," Minerva replied. "He would want you to be happy here at Hogwarts."

Severus gave her a small nod. "All right then, Albus can watch and show it to you," he agreed hoarsely.

Ten minutes later, Albus, Minerva, and Poppy entered the headmaster's Pensieve, while Rolanda sat down on the sofa, right next to Severus, who was tiredly leaning on to her. "Severus, do you know how to fly?" she asked carefully, noticing that Severus' eyes lit immediately.

"I love to fly," he replied happily, only to ask eagerly, "Do you think they will let Harry and me fly?"

Rolanda sighed. "Well, I suppose it depends on your condition; otherwise I can't see a reason why they shouldn't let you fly. I'm not sure if Harry can fly, but if not, I'll teach him, since I'm the flying instructor here at Hogwarts."

"You teach flying? That's too exciting!" Severus exclaimed, ending up in a coughing fit just when the three adults left the Pensieve.

"Can Harry and I go flying tomorrow?" Severus asked immediately, causing Minerva, Albus, and Poppy to throw him an astonished look.

"It depends on your and Harry's condition, Severus. If Poppy allows you to fly, then we'll take you flying, all right?" Minerva answered gently.

"All right," Severus replied in a small voice, giving Poppy a pleading look.

"Don't ask me now, Severus. I'll tell you tomorrow, sweetie," Poppy replied smiling and went into the children's room to check on Harry, while Minerva sat on the sofa, taking Severus onto her lap.

"Severus," Albus began to speak carefully. "Your father will never hurt you again. I can promise you that. You will not return to your parents but remain at Hogwarts."

"Really?" Severus croaked unbelievingly.

"Yes, sweetie, really," Minerva reassured him softly, causing Severus to relax in her arms. "How is Harry?" she asked Poppy, seeing that he was just coming out of the children's room.

"Harry has a slight cold, but I gave him Pepper-up potion, and I hope that it won't aggravate his condition further. Probably, he will be all right tomorrow," Poppy replied thoughtfully. "However, it might be that you have to wait a day until you can go flying," she turned to Severus. "Moreover, his rash has now spread over his whole body except for his face, and I just applied the healing cream. "Now, Severus, would you mind me checking on you?"

"No," Severus replied quietly, leaning further into Minerva's robes, while Poppy waved her wand at him and peered into his mouth and ears. "Does your ear hurt, sweetie?" she asked, frowning.

"No," Severus croaked. "Only my throat is a little sore, and my skin feels icky."

"Yes, I know that, sweetie, but we can only give you more potions in the morning. If your ear begins to hurt, you have to tell Minerva or Albus, since I have a healing cream that'll help against the pain." Poppy looked at Minerva and said quietly, "His right ear is a bit red, but as long as he doesn't have problems it's all right. I'll check on both of them again in the morning."

Suddenly, they heard a huge gasp from behind Minerva, and when everyone slowly turned to the door to the children's room, they saw Harry standing in the door frame with steam coming out of his ears and an incredulous expression on his face.

* * *

_I am not a native speaker of English. So please excuse my mistakes!_

_All recognizable characters belong to J.K.Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

"What's that?" Harry asked hoarsely, pointing to the Hogwarts Express on the floor.

"That's the Hogwarts Express, Harry, a train, which brings all the students back to Hogwarts when school starts again after the holidays," Albus explained gently.

Severus quickly slid down from Minerva's lap and stood next to Harry, looking at the beautiful train set in awe. "May we play?" he asked hesitantly, causing the adults to laugh.

"Yes, Severus and Harry, you may play with the train, but only a few minutes since it is nearly midnight. You may play with the train again tomorrow," Minerva replied softly.

The children didn't need another invitation and were soon engrossed in their play. "Albus," Poppy whispered. "Do you realize that you have to take photos of them? It's too cute to see how they interact with each other. We need something to make them remember how well they could get along if they wanted."

While Minerva let out a snort, Albus giggled, his eyes twinkling with pleasure. "You know, Poppy; I've installed magical cameras in this room as well as in the children's room and I intend to present each of them with an album of their holidays together when they're back to their usual selves."

"The question is if they'll ever forgive you," Rolanda threw in, smirking.

"Now, Severus and Harry; it's time for you to go to bed," Minerva raised her voice, standing up at the same moment.

Both children stood up immediately, giving the train set a longing glance, and said 'Good night' to the adults, before they followed Minerva into their room. "Thanks for letting us play with the train set; it's absolutely gorgeous," Severus mumbled, when Minerva tucked him in gently.

"Thanks; that was so much fun," Harry echoed when Minerva came over to him.

"You're very welcome, and you'll be able to play with it whenever you want," the teacher promised, tucking Harry in as well. "Good night, Severus, Harry."

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

"Harry! Harry, are you awake?" Severus sat on the edge of Harry's bed slightly shaking his shoulder.

Harry lazily opened his eyes. "What happened?" he croaked, before he sneezed a few times. "Hatchoo, hatchoo, heeshhoo."

"Are you feeling all right?" Severus asked worriedly. "I thought we could play with the train set."

"Oh, yes, I'd like that," Harry replied and scrambled out of his bed, following Severus into the headmaster's office.

Soon, the two boys were pushing the train from London to the Hogsmeade station and back, enjoying themselves greatly. After a while, however, Severus noticed that Harry was leaning his back on to the headmaster's desk and asked worriedly, "Are you feeling bad, Harry?"

"Only a little bit, but it's all right," Harry replied wearily. "I want to play with you."

'_Maybe I shouldn't have woken him up so early in the morning_,' Severus mused. '_I wonder if I can make him better somehow_.' He quickly retrieved a thermometer from the children's room and told Harry, "Let me see if you have a fever, all right?" When Harry didn't protest, he carefully pulled his pyjama top down over his shoulder and stuck the thermometer under his armpit, loose enough to not hurt his friend. Very soon, the thermometer beeped and Severus took it out proudly, feeling very big since he was able to look after his friend so well. "36.8," he read. "That's quite good I think. Are you feeling better now, Harry?"

"A bit," Harry smiled, feeling very consoled by Severus' nice gesture.

Severus placed the thermometer on the desk asking, "Shall we play a bit more then?"

"All right," Harry replied and pushed the train back to his friend. '_I'd prefer to lie down for a while, but it's so nice to have a friend, who really wants to play with me_,' he thought wearily, while he waited for the train to come back to Hogsmeade.

After a while, Minerva entered the room, astonished to see the children up and about so early in the morning. "Hello, sweeties, how are you?" she asked softly, sitting down on the sofa.

Harry immediately walked over, hesitantly climbing onto her lap. "I don't think Harry feels well, but I took his temperature and it was 36.8," Severus explained, feeling very big.

"Hmmm, that was very thoughtful of you, Severus," Minerva commended the boy, gently stroking Harry's hot cheeks. "But his fever seems to have climbed up afterwards; he feels very warm now. Come here, Severus, and let me check on you too." She summoned the thermometers and took both children's temperatures at the same time, frowning at the reading. "I'm afraid Harry will have to lie down for a while. He has a very high fever right now. Severus, you may play if you feel well enough. However, you should both return to your beds for a moment so that I can apply the healing salve to your skin."

When Minerva allowed him to get up and play ten minutes later, Severus joyfully rushed to the door but all of a sudden stopped dead in his tracks. '_When I felt bad a few days ago, Harry read me a story_,' he remembered and slowly walked back to his bed. "Harry, do you want me to sit with you and read you a story?" he asked softly, and seeing that Harry began to smile happily he stepped to the book shelf and chose a book about two small boys, who became friends with a baby dragon.

"Thank you, Severus; I'm very proud of you," Minerva told him when she was finished applying Harry's salve and stood up to let Severus sit on the edge of Harry's bed.

Severus began to read, and noticing that Harry was hanging on his every word, he didn't stop until the story was finished. "Thank you, Severus," Harry mumbled hoarsely and lazily closed his eyes while he reached out for Severus' hand.

Only when he was sure that Harry was fast asleep did Severus leave his spot next to his friend and went out into the headmaster's office to play with the gorgeous train set. However, he soon noticed that it had been much more fun to play together with Harry, and he missed his friend terribly. Severus decided to wait for Harry and quietly sat down on the sofa next to Minerva, who was reading a book.

"What's wrong?" Minerva asked softly, putting her book away, before she pulled Severus close. "Are you missing Harry?"

"Yes," Severus replied sadly.

"Well, then let's go to my quarters and have breakfast, Severus. Harry won't be able to eat right now anyway and Albus is still asleep."

"All right," Severus agreed. "I just have to use the bathroom."

"That's fine. I'd like to floo-call Poppy, so that she will come and look after Harry anyway," Minerva gave back and headed to the fireplace. "Poppy, first of all I need you to check on Harry again, and secondly, I'd like to ask if you could take Severus and brew a potion with him? He seems to be very sad because Harry is in bed today."

"That's too funny, considering who they are," Poppy replied. "Yes of course, Minerva. He can help me brew something that I need anyway."

HP

Half an hour later, Poppy entered Minerva's kitchen, where Minerva and Severus had just finished eating. "I gave Harry another Pepper-up potion; that should do it. Tomorrow he'll surely be playing with you again," she turned to Severus. "Now, I have to brew some more Pepper-up potion for Harry. Severus, would you like to assist me? I could well use such an adept assistant."

"Of course, I'd like that very much," Severus replied happily. "May I go?" he turned to Minerva, giving the teacher a pleading look.

"Of course you may, sweetie," Minerva replied softly, knowing that she didn't have to worry about the child if he was with her best friend.

HP

Later in the morning, Albus was working in his office and Minerva sat on the edge of Harry's bed reading a book when Harry woke up all of a sudden, looking around in obvious distress.

"What's wrong, sweetie?" Minerva asked softly. "Did you have a bad dream?"

"Yes," Harry whispered and hesitantly told Minerva, "I was at my relatives' during the summer holidays, but they locked me into my cupboard and didn't let me have my school books, so that I couldn't do my homework." He sniffed a bit before he continued, "And on the first day of classes, the Potions professor shouted at me for being so lazy and took lots of house points from me, and everyone in my house gave me evil looks for losing so many house points. I..." He sniffed again and sneezed a few times, "I was looking for Severus, but I couldn't find him. He wasn't there!"

Minerva watched in horror when Harry began to sob vehemently, until his sobs turned into a coughing fit. Suddenly, they heard Severus' high, childish voice from behind. "I'm here, Harry. Look what I brewed for you!"

* * *

_Thanks a lot for your kind reviews - I really appreciate it!_

_I am not a native speaker of English. So please excuse my mistakes!_

_All recognizable characters belong to J.K.Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Severus stepped in front of Harry's bed and handed him a small bag. Seeing that his friend gave him a questioning look, he explained, "Fruit drops. They are yummy."

"Thank you, Sev," Harry croaked, feeling very consoled now. "Do you want to play with the Hogwarts train now?"

"Yes, I'd like that," Severus replied, smiling. "Can Harry get up, Minerva?"

"If you feel well enough, sweetie, and only then, you may get up and play for a while," Minerva replied softly, sensing that Harry needed to get away from his dream.

Harry slowly followed Severus into the office, taking his bag of fruit drops with him. He offered a drop to everyone and finally put one in his mouth, noticing how soothing it felt to his sore throat. Soon, the children were very engrossed in their play and didn't even look up once until Minerva told them to join her and Albus for lunch.

"I'm not hungry," Harry mumbled.

Knowing that Harry was probably too unwell to eat, Minerva put him back to bed and carefully tucked him in, before she told him, "We will be in my kitchen for a short while to eat lunch, or do you want me to stay with you, sweetie?"

"No, I'm fine," Harry replied, giving the kind lady a small smile, before he closed his aching eyes.

After quickly eating lunch, Severus sat down on the edge of Harry's bed, noticing that his friend was tossing and turning around in his sleep. He quickly climbed on the bed and lay down next to Harry, pulling his friend close. "It's all right, Harry; you're here at Hogwarts with me," he told him softly, causing Harry to whimper for a moment, before he lazily opened his eyes.

"Sev!" Harry mumbled, very glad to see his friend lying next to him.

"What's wrong, Harry?" Severus asked. "Can I make you better?"

"Sev, may I ask you something?" Harry enquired in a small voice.

"Of course," Severus replied astonished.

"Does your father hate you because you're a wizard?"

The other boy threw him a shocked glance, before he replied, "I don't know if he hates me, but he hates magic."

"My relatives do too. They hate magic, and they hate me. They always call me a freak."

Severus pulled Harry even closer. "My father calls me that too."

Harry sneezed and coughed a few times and finally croaked, "I wished I could always stay here at Hogwarts with you and Minerva and Albus and never return to my relatives." Shivering a little, Harry lay back in exhaustion.

"Maybe we should speak with Minerva and Albus about it. They are grown-ups, so maybe they'll be able to help us," Severus mused aloud.

"Okay," Harry mumbled lazily, closing his eyes.

"Harry," Severus whispered a few minutes later. "Are you still awake?"

"Um," Harry croaked, coughing.

"Do you have an idea how we got here, to Hogwarts I mean?" Severus asked thoughtfully.

"No," Harry replied. "I only remember being on the sofa in Albus' office with Minerva, and then all of a sudden you were there," he mused.

"I remember being in a huge classroom together with you, and I had to dig you out from a pile of clothes or something," Severus told his friend. "Shall we go and ask Minerva or Albus?"

Harry groaned a bit and sneezed again. "Hatcho, hatchoo, esshoo, essshooo. No, I don't want to get up, I'm cold."

"You're really unwell today, aren't you, Harry?" Severus replied and carefully felt Harry's forehead that felt hot to his hand, which wasn't even cold since he had a slight fever as well. "I call Minerva," he told his friend and tried to get up. However, he felt Harry pull him back.

"Don't go, stay with me," Harry whispered pleadingly, causing Severus to remain at his side during the whole afternoon.

"I really don't appreciate them sleeping in a bed together," Minerva told Albus, after she checked on the children, seeing that they were still both asleep.

"Well, nor do I, but if it helps them to get better and perhaps improve their relationship, then maybe it's worth tolerating it," Albus replied pensively.

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

When Severus woke up in the morning, he noticed that Harry's bed was empty. '_Where can he have gone?_' he thought and hurried into Albus' office, where Harry was peacefully sitting on the sofa, drawing a picture and sucking a fruit drop at the same time.

"Hello Harry, are you feeling better today?" he asked hopefully.

"Yes," Harry mumbled hoarsely. "And you?"

"My head hurts, and it's so itchy, don't you think so?" Severus asked, uncomfortably scratching his stomach.

"Don't scratch," Harry said hesitantly, before he sneezed and admitted, "I feel icky too, Severus. Look, I drew a picture for Minerva; it's nearly finished."

"Those flowers are very pretty, Harry," Severus encouraged his friend. "She will like it."

"My aunt never likes my pictures; she always throws them away," Harry told him sadly.

Severus sat down next to Harry and hugged him. "Minerva won't throw your pictures away. My mother always sticks my pictures to the wall, Harry. Go on and finish it. I'll be here with you."

Harry quietly finished the picture that held a beautiful bunch of flowers. "It's gorgeous," Severus, who had been quietly observing him, spoke up. "Write your name on it," he advised Harry, who chose the pink crayon and wrote at the top of the picture '_For Minerva_.' He then took the dark blue crayon and added a '_lof you_,' and '_from Harry_' at the bottom.

"I just hope she won't throw it away," he mumbled, thinking of all the pictures he had drawn for Petunia only to watch them being torn and thrown into the bin.

An hour later, Minerva entered the room, astonished to see both children up and about so early, even if they were both half-asleep on the sofa, leaning on to each other. She also saw the picture on the table, and looked at it in awe when she realized that it held her name. "Is that for me?" she asked softly.

Harry quickly sat upright and slowly averted his eyes to look up into Minerva's face. "Yes, I just thought, I mean, I just wanted to thank you, and I thought maybe you could like it," he finished hesitantly.

"Of course I like it, sweetie; it's beautiful. Thank you very much, Harry! Would you mind if I stuck it at the wall in my office?"

Harry looked at the teacher anxiously but couldn't find any malice in her expression. "Thank you; I'd like that a lot," he replied shyly.

"Do you want to come and help me put it on the wall then?" Minerva asked, and Harry quickly followed her into her office, noticing that Severus remained on the sofa and closed his eyes. "Look, it fits here exactly," Minerva told Harry, admiring how beautiful the picture looked behind her desk.

Harry tried to swallow the lump that was forming in his throat and croaked, "Thanks a lot, I really appreciate it," before he stepped over to Minerva and threw both arms around her stomach. '_Sev was right, she put it onto the wall_,' he thought happily, feeling so relieved that he couldn't hold back the tears, which started to pour down his cheeks.

"What's wrong, sweetie?" Minerva asked, shocked, and sat down on a chair, pulling Harry on her lap.

"Nothing, I'm only so happy; my aunt always throws my pictures away," Harry confided in a small voice.

Trying not to show the child how shocked she was at that revelation, Minerva carefully wiped Harry's tears away and told him, "You're very adept at drawing."

"Thank you," Harry replied happily, before he all of a sudden remembered Severus and said, "We should go back to Sevvie. I think he's not feeling so well today."

They just arrived back at the headmaster's office to see a bright flash just in front of the sofa where Severus was sitting and Harry rushed over to the sofa shouting, "Sevvie!" before he ended up in a coughing fit.

* * *

_I am not a native speaker of English. So please excuse my mistakes!_

_All recognizable characters belong to J.K.Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

"What was that for a flash?" Severus asked horrified, when Harry and Minerva stepped over to him.

Minerva glanced over at the phoenix' perch that stood right next to Albus' desk at the other side of the room. "You just witnessed Fawkes, Albus' phoenix familiar, return from an errand," she explained gently, before she turned to the bird.

"How dare you give Severus such a fright, Fawkes; wait until I tell Albus," she admonished the bird strictly, receiving a pretty melody in return that sounded as if the bird was ridiculing her.

Harry stepped over to the beautiful bird and looked at him in awe. "He's gorgeous," he said, sounding totally amazed. He nearly jumped in fright when Fawkes suddenly left his perch and swept down onto Harry's arm. The phoenix cocked his head to the side, looking intensely into the boy's face, before he once more moved his head, showing Harry his head feathers, which were standing up, inviting Harry to pet him.

Harry instinctively reached out and carefully petted the phoenix with a huge smile on his face.

"Are you feeling all right, sweetie?" Minerva asked softly, turning back to Severus.

"Can I get a headache potion?" Severus asked, noticing that his headache was worsening.

"Of course you can, sweetie; however, I'd like both of you to return to your beds for a moment so that I can check on you and apply the healing salve," Minerva replied gently, motioning the boys back into their room.

"Your rash seems to get better, Severus," Minerva said, sounding very relieved while she applied the salve to his skin.

"Ga gik icky," Severus replied around the thermometer that was stuck in his mouth.

Harry giggled, feeling glad that Minerva had stuck his under his armpit, because his nose was too stuffy to breathe through it. "Is mine getting better too?" he asked hopefully.

"I'll look at it as soon as I'm finished with Severus," Minerva replied, giving Harry a fond smile. "No Harry, I'm sorry," she told him a few minutes later. "Your rash isn't better yet, and both of you have quite a fever and should rest a bit today. It seems as if you had caught Harry's cold as well, Severus."

During the next two days, both boys were feeling very feverish and unwell and spent many hours in bed together, talking about their home life or whatever they could think about.

When they felt better and were allowed to get up and play in the office, Poppy talked to Minerva and Albus about the re-aging process. "As you have probably noticed, Severus' rash is completely gone now, and his fever has come down to a slight temperature. Harry's rash is still there, but it's improving, and his fever isn't too high anymore either. As you know, I'll be away for a week from tonight onwards. I suggest that you wait until tomorrow evening or the day after, until you give them the next dose of the aging potion." She placed two phials on Albus' desk.

"This will bring Harry back to his normal age and make Severus thirteen too. I'd suggest leaving Severus at that age for a few days or even a week, depending on how they behave, and watching them intensely to see how they get along, before you give Severus the final dose that will bring him back to his real age." She gave Minerva a piercing look. "Minerva, you know where you can reach me in case you need me. I don't mind coming here at any time."

"Thank you, Poppy," Minerva replied, looking at her friend gratefully. "That's a great relief."

"Albus, Poppy; what do you think? Should we tell them about the re-aging before we give them the potions? What will they think if they're suddenly thirteen instead of six?"

Albus sighed. "Yes Minerva, I believe that we have to tell them. However, we shouldn't explain about Sev's real age yet and about their relationship, but just let them become thirteen and see how they fare."

The three adults agreed on the procedure, and after dinner the same day, Albus and Minerva gathered both children on the sofa in Albus' office. The headmaster told them that they were de-aged to six-year old children due to a potions accident and that they wanted to re-age them back to the age of thirteen during the next days.

"Will Harry and I still be together and be able to play together and sleep together in the same room?" Severus asked, worriedly glancing from Albus to Minerva.

"Yes, Severus, both of you will remain at Hogwarts, and during the holidays you may stay here in your own room. Only when school starts again in September, you have to return to your normal rooms. But nevertheless, you'll be able to see each other every day," the headmaster promised.

"Okay," Harry replied, shifting closer to Severus.

"We'll always be friends, Harry, regardless of our age," Severus told his friend, obsidian eyes looking straight into emerald ones.

"When will we have to take the potion?" Severus enquired, averting his eyes to the adults once more.

"I suggest that you take the potion in the evening, so that you can rest during the night. Your joints might ache, and would probably be better if you slept for a while after taking the potion," Minerva suggested.

"Can we take the potion immediately then?" Severus asked hesitantly. "Otherwise we'd have the whole day tomorrow to worry about what might happen."

"I think so too," Harry agreed immediately. "Please give us the potion immediately."

Minerva and Albus conferred quietly for a few minutes but finally agreed, acknowledging that it had been their own fault to tell the children too early. "Well, let's check on you, and then we'll decide," Albus told the children and ushered them back into their room.

Albus sat down on the edge of Severus' bed and quietly talked to the boy while he took his temperature. "Severus, when you become older due to the potion, you will get several uncomfortable memories back, and during the years you will have met other students at Hogwarts, even those, who are not nice to you. There are two things, which I want you to remember above everything else. Harry is your friend, regardless of your or his age, and Minerva and I will always be here to help you or to speak with you if you need us."

Unable to reply, Severus shot Albus a frightened glance, before he tiredly closed his eyes. He still didn't feel completely well yet, and thinking of the aging potion he felt even more unwell. '_I just hope they give it to us quickly_,' he thought when he felt Albus take the thermometer back. "37.9," Albus' voice penetrated his ears.

However, a moment later, Severus could hear Minerva say, "I'm sorry, but we can't give them the aging potion tonight. Harry's fever is back to 39 degrees."

"But I'm fine," Harry whispered, his voice laced with disappointment.

"I'm sorry, sweeties, but you'll have to wait until tomorrow," Minerva said gently and made Harry drink a fever reducer.

"Go to sleep soon, both of you, and it will be tomorrow before you know it," Albus advised them gently and left the room, while Minerva proceeded to read a story to the children.

Later in the evening, Severus couldn't sleep. He was terrified of what was going to happen. So far, he hadn't met too many children, but Harry had been the only one, whom he really liked. The boy had a similar childhood to himself, and he could understand him. Nobody had ever been able to understand him in such a way. '_Well, he will still be here, but there will be other children as well. What if they all call me 'freak'?_' he mused.

'_Harry_,' Severus thought. '_He will understand_.' He scrambled out of his bed and climbed up into Harry's bed and cuddled him close, enjoying the warmth his friend radiated. "Harry?" he whispered softly.

"Sev?" Harry whispered back. "What's wrong?"

"I can't sleep. I'm so afraid of what is going to happen," Severus replied.

"So do I," Harry whispered, coughing harshly. "I'm afraid of the other children. What if they are like Dudley and his gang and always chase us, calling us freaks?"

"Well, then we'll still have each other," Severus answered calmingly, trying to hide his own anxiousness in order to help his friend.

"Severus, shall we take the potion now?" Harry suddenly enquired.

"I don't know," Severus replied uncertainly. "Are you feeling well enough?"

"Yes of course," Harry lied, knowing that his friend couldn't wait longer. "Can you fetch the potion please?"

Severus quickly retrieved the two phials, handed one to Harry, and returned to his own bed with the other phial in his hand. "Three, two, one, now!" he told Harry, and they gulped down their potions at the same time.

* * *

_Thanks for your kind reviews - I really appreciate them!_

_I am not a native speaker of English. So please excuse my mistakes!_

_All recognizable characters belong to J.K.Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

As soon as they gulped down the re-aging potion, Severus and Harry felt their whole bodies convulse in pain as their bodies stretched to the length of thirteen-year olds. Harry felt Severus moan in agony, but he was feeling too bad to get up and walk over to his friend's side in order to comfort him. "Sev, are you all right?" he hesitantly asked.

"It hurts," Severus answered, remembering that there was Harry, his best friend. "Are you all right?" he asked after a short while and noticed that his friend had obviously fallen asleep.

Severus however couldn't sleep well. Memories of his first school years haunted his dreams. There was a boy in his memories that looked like Harry, but he wasn't Harry. He was James, whoever that was. But he looked like the splitting image of Harry. '_Strange_,' he thought and cast a wandless Lumos charm, observing his friend toss and turn around for a moment, before he was pulled out of his reverie and got up, hesitantly stepping over to Harry's bed.

"Harry, are you all right?" he asked softly, still wondering why his friend looked exactly like one of the classmates he absolutely despised. '_Where was Harry in my dream?_' he mused worriedly. '_Well, at least he's here_,' he decided and lightly shook Harry's shoulder, causing his friend to jump in fright.

"Sev; here you are," Harry mumbled relieved, shivering violently.

"Harry, are you all right?" Severus asked, alarmed, and placed a hand on Harry's forehead. "You're burning up," he gasped. "Harry, let me take your temperature, and if it's too high I have to call Minerva."

"Okay," Harry mumbled wearily. Apart from feeling terribly sick, he was totally confused. In his dreams, he had spent lots of time with Hermione and Ron, but where was Severus? '_Ah well, he's right here; that alone is important_,' he mused, shivering even more when Severus forced the thermometer into his mouth.

"I'm sorry, Harry; maybe we should have waited and not taken the potion. McGonagall said we shouldn't because you were too ill," Severus said softly, watching his friend in concern as far as he was able to see him in the moon light that lit the room a bit through the charmed window behind Harry's bed. He quickly cast a Lumos charm to read the display of the thermometer and gasped. "40.8, Harry; that's extremely high. What are we going to do? Shall I go the hospital wing and fetch Madam Pomfrey?"

"No," Harry replied tiredly. "Can you lie next to me and warm me? It's so cold."

"Of course," Severus replied. He quickly took the cool cloth from the night table, glad that Minerva had charmed it to stay cool, and carefully adjusted it to Harry's forehead, before he lay down next to Harry and carefully pulled the sick boy into his arms.

Harry relaxed in Severus' arm and soon drifted off to fevered dreams. '_I'm surprised that he was so coherent considering how high his fever is_,' Severus mused. He was so worried about his friend that he didn't sleep any more during the night. Every now and then, he took the cool cloth to bathe Harry's burning face, before he carefully adjusted it once more. A few times, he cautiously slid the thermometer under Harry's armpit to check his temperature, glad that it didn't go up; however, it didn't break either. Severus witnesses several of Harry's fever induced nightmares, in which he was begging his uncle not to beat him or trying to explain to his professor that he wasn't a dunderhead at Potions.

When he saw that it became light outside, he carefully got up and fetched a fever reducer, knowing that enough time had passed since Harry's last dose. He woke Harry up and made him swallow the potion, sighing in relief when Harry's fever came down a degree.

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

When Minerva entered the children's room, she stopped dead in her tracks. However, before she could even think about scolding the children, Severus saw her and motioned her to be quiet. He quickly filled her in about Harry's condition and how he had taken care of him during the night.

Minerva put a calming hand on Severus shoulder and said, "I'm not pleased that you took the potions against my explicit orders, which were Madam Pomfrey's orders. Well, that cannot be changed now, and we'll have to see how to help Harry. You should have called me immediately, even if it was during the night though. Nevertheless, I'm very proud of you, Severus. You did a great job looking after Harry, although I'm sure that you won't be feeling perfectly well either."

"It's all right," Severus replied, blushing slightly.

"However, I want you to return to your own bed for a while, so that I can check on both of you," Minerva said gently, and Severus obeyed immediately. Minerva decided to check on Severus first, since Harry was asleep anyway, and sat down on the edge of Severus' bed. "How are you feeling, Severus?" she asked softly, sticking the thermometer under his armpit.

Severus threw her a weary glance, torn between the memories of the Gryffindor head of house that he had seen in his dreams and the experiences he had made in her care as a six-year old. "I'm confused," he said finally. "I can't find Harry in my memories, only a James Potter, who's horrible and looks like a splitting image of Harry. But Harry's here and I feel terribly sorry for him that I didn't protest when he suggested taking the potion because he knew that I couldn't wait. I should have known better, especially after your warning."

Minerva carefully pulled the thermometer out and read, "38.5; Severus, even if it's not so high, you also have a fever. You don't have to stay in bed, if you feel well enough to get up; however, considering that you hardly slept during the night, I suggest that you try to sleep for a few hours. I will stay here and look after Harry. Don't worry, child; nothing is your fault. We shouldn't have left the potions on the table, where a six-year old could reach them. Do you need a headache potion?"

"Yes please," Severus replied gratefully. He gulped the potion down and relaxed visibly. When he lay down again, he asked, "Minerva, or should I call you Professor now?"

"Minerva is all right, child," she answered softly, giving him an expectant look.

"Could you please explain why everything is so strange and doesn't match? Where's Harry? I mean how does he fit in my memories?"

Minerva sighed. "Severus, I really don't want to speak about it right now as you're still sick, but if it confuses you so much, I'm going to tell you everything." Noticing that he was listening intensely, she began, "When you were de-aged, you weren't de-aged from thirteen to six but from thirty-three. James Potter, whom you saw in your memories, is Harry's real father, who died when Harry was a year old. And as you know, Harry is completely different from James apart from his outer appearance."

"Thank God," Severus blurted out, causing Minerva to laugh in relief. "So I am the dreaded Potions Professor, whom Harry drew in his picture and whom he had the vision of before he fell so ill?"

"Severus, stay calm, please, so that you won't aggravate your condition," Minerva replied softly. "Harry and you didn't know each other well until you were de-aged. However, as you now know, you have so much in common and are best friends. You can still remain good friends with Harry, even if you're back to your own age. Look at Albus and me; Albus is eighty years older than me, but we're really good friends."

"But he's my student, isn't he?"

"Well? I was Albus' student until I graduated. That's not a problem. However, I'd like to ask you not to tell Harry about your real age yet. I don't know when you want to take the final dose of the aging potion; however, I'd suggest that you wait at least until your fever is completely gone and you feel better. We still have two months of summer holidays left, so you can decide if you want to spend a few weeks more at the same age as Harry, of if you wish to return to your normal age faster. That's up to you."

"All right; thank you Minerva, for everything. For telling me the truth and for looking after Harry and me; and don't worry, I will not abandon Harry, provided that he won't despise me after hearing, who I am."

"He won't, child. Now, go to sleep," Minerva replied softly and gently tucked him in, before she laid a cool cloth on his forehead and stood up to check on Harry. She considered if she should wake Harry up in order to speak with him too but finally decided to let him sleep and merely take his temperature first to assess, how bad his condition was. She cautiously pulled his pyjama top down over his shoulder, glad that they had charmed the children's pyjamas to grow as much as needed, noticing that Harry began to shiver at the cold touch of her hand. However, he didn't wake up at all, not even when she stuck the icy thermometer under his armpit or when she bathed his hot face while she was waiting for the reading. Minerva threw a horrified glance at the display that showed 40.8.

'_I have to call Poppy_,' she decided and hurried to the fireplace, just when the headmaster came out of his private quarters.

Five minutes later, Poppy bustled into the children's room and waved her wand over Harry several times. "That was not a good idea. I will reschedule my holidays," she finally said, pulled a few potions out of her bag, and spelled them straight into Harry's stomach, before she motioned Albus and Minerva to follow her into the headmaster's office.

* * *

_I am not a native speaker of English. So please excuse my mistakes!_

_All recognizable characters belong to J.K.Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

"Harry had a relapse, and the wizard's measles are starting again. Fortunately, I have some of the potion left, which I obtained from St. Mungo's three weeks ago, and we will all, including Severus, have to take the potion with our next meal."

"Excuse me, Poppy, but why do you know that the wizard's measles are starting again? He's not completely recovered yet, is he?" Minerva asked confused.

Poppy sighed. "I know that definitely. If an illness was already on the mend when I do my check-up, the edges would be shown in green; however, if the illness is at its beginning, the edges will be orange. In Harry's case it shows both."

"Poppy, could you check on Severus too, please?" Minerva asked, and the healer returned into the children's room once more.

"Severus is all right," Poppy informed her colleagues a few minutes later. "He is still suffering a bit from the wizard's measles in combination with the side effects of the aging potion, but let him rest for a day or two, and he'll be right as rain."

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

When Severus woke up, he felt slightly better. At least, his joints didn't hurt so much anymore. He looked over to Harry and saw that Minerva was sitting on the edge of his bed, quietly talking to him. Severus swung both feet out of his bed, feeling a little unsure about the length of his legs after being a small for a few weeks, and knelt down in front of Harry's bed, giving him a worried look.

"Are you feeling better, Harry? I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault, Sev. It was me, who suggested to take the potion, remember?" Harry raised an eyebrow at his friend. "And yes, I'm feeling a bit better."

"Harry had a setback," Minerva explained, handing Severus a glass of water. "Please drink this Severus; it should prevent that you get the illness once more."

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

During the next two days, Severus spent much time sitting on the edge of Harry's bed, looking after his friend, who was still suffering from a high fever, and quietly talking to him. Severus tried hard to keep the conversation away from people at Hogwarts, knowing that the teachers were the only persons they both knew. They talked about their holidays, which they both had to spend at their abusive homes, about Hogwarts and the magical world in general, about flying, Quidditch, chess, and of course about Potions.

"Harry, if you have so much problems with Potions, which I can't understand because you seemed very adept when we brewed together, why don't you let me tutor you? As you know, Potions is my favourite subject, and I'm sure we'll have lots of fun. Apart from that, you can show your evil Potions professor how adept you are in fact."

"That would be fun," Harry replied hoarsely. "Will you teach me please, Sev? I'd really appreciate it."

"As soon as you feel better," Severus replied, glancing at the wrist band that Poppy had attached to Harry's right arm.

On the third day, Harry's extremely high fever broke, just when he developed a new rash on his arms and legs. Severus woke up very early in the morning, noticing that Harry was tossing and turning in his bed, trying to pull his wrist band off his arm while he slept. In the blink of an eye, Severus was at his side, lightly shaking his shoulder. "Harry, wake up and tell me what's wrong," he whispered urgently.

"It itches so badly," Harry croaked. "Can you take that off?"

"Of course, Harry. Hold on for a moment." Severus glanced at the wrist band and said, "Your fever came down to 39 degrees; that's great." He took the wrist band off and reached for the healing cream that was waiting on Harry's night table. "Your rash started on your arms; I'm going to apply the healing salve, and then I'd like to take your pyjamas off to see if it's starting somewhere else too. Or would you prefer Poppy or Minerva to have a look?"

"No, it's fine if either of you does it, thanks," Harry mumbled hoarsely.

"Harry, I don't think you're well enough to brew Potions yet, but do you think you can try to get up and play chess with me?" Severus asked when he was finished with Harry's arms and legs.

"Okay," Harry agreed and followed his friend over into the headmaster's office.

Severus fetched the chess set he had seen on the book shelf before and motioned Harry to begin. Harry noticed soon that Severus played better than anyone else he had seen playing before, and the game only lasted ten minutes.

"I know that I'm not good, but you're absolutely brilliant," Harry stated amazed after losing for the third time, just when Minerva entered the room.

"Are you feeling better today, Harry?" she asked, giving the two boys a fond smile.

"Yes, a bit," Harry mumbled, feeling quite exhausted after an hour of playing chess against Severus.

"We can have breakfast here, and afterwards you can try to sleep a bit here on the sofa," Minerva suggested and Harry grudgingly agreed, knowing that he wouldn't be able to eat anything.

When Minerva called a house elf to order breakfast, Severus asked politely, "Could you bring a plate of fruits for Harry, please?" and to Harry's astonishment, a huge bowl of assorted fruits appeared in front of him.

'_Just what I wanted_,' Harry thought happily and managed to eat a lot more than he had expected.

Just when they were finished with breakfast, Albus appeared and called Severus over into his private quarters to speak with him in private. "I'll be right back," Severus told Harry, who smiled at his friend and tiredly rested his head on the back of the sofa, closing his eyes.

"I think he wanted to speak to him about the birds and the bees," Minerva said quietly, when she sat down next to Harry, pulling his head over, so that he came to lie on the sofa, his head on her lap. "Did your wrist band itch too much over your rash, or why did you take it off?" she asked softly, gently feeling Harry's forehead. "You're still quite warm, sweetie. Did Severus give you a fever reducer?"

"Yes, he did; and a pain relieving potion because my throat hurt so much," Harry replied and closed his eyes once more.

When Severus came back, he played a few games of chess against Minerva, whom he wasn't able to beat until Harry woke up the next time.

"I'm surprised that Harry still doesn't make the connection between me and his hated Potions teacher," Severus whispered to Minerva, seeing that Harry was still fast asleep.

Minerva sighed. "First of all, he is very ill and was delirious during the last two days since you took the potion. That and the fact that he didn't get to know your last name while you were six years old probably does the trick. Moreover, you're here with him and are just your normal self like you were as a six-year old. You behave completely differently from what you behaved as Professor Snape. However, as soon as his fever comes down and he's more alert, we can expect him to realise the similarity between you and the Potions teacher in your outer appearance, and if he notices that you don't know any of his classmates, he might question you.

Severus sighed. "As you know, he's my best friend, at least at the moment, and I don't want to lie to him. I know that you asked me to keep it from him for a while, but I'd really feel better if I could tell him the truth. However, I'd like to take him to the Potions lab and tutor him for a while before telling him, but as long as his condition doesn't improve there's no chance that I could do that. What do you think I should do, Minerva?"

Minerva fondly ruffled his hair. "I can understand you very well, Severus, and I will leave the decision to you. I know that you have Harry's best interests in mind. Since Harry obviously doesn't feel well enough to be up and about, I'd suggest that you begin your Potions tutoring here. Before you take him to the Potions lab and tutor him, you should teach him general knowledge about potions, about ingredients, or whatever he needs to know."

"Oh, that's a good idea," Severus acknowledged gratefully. "Thank you Minerva."

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

Later in the afternoon, Severus gave Harry his first Potions lesson. While Harry was resting on the sofa, his friend told him everything about the different kinds of potions ingredients and the various methods to prepare them. Harry was listening interestedly and even asked questions from time to time. "I can't understand why you're having problems with Potions; you're very adept, Harry," Severus told him, when he finished their lesson, noticing that Harry was becoming too tired. He questioningly raised an eyebrow, patiently waiting for Harry to reply.

"You know, Severus, I've already had Potions lessons for three years now, but our professor didn't give us these explanations about the ingredients even once. Today, I've learnt more about Potions than in three years," Harry replied hoarsely. "Thanks Sev!"

"You're welcome, Harry. We can continue tomorrow if you wish."

"I'd like that," Harry mumbled tiredly, while he closed his eyes and slowly drifted off to sleep again, leaving Severus to muse about which potions he should teach him first.

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

Harry soon began to toss and turn around in his sleep. Severus moved to the edge of the sofa, telling him, "Wake up Harry, everything is all right."

"No!" Harry suddenly began to whimper, and by the time Severus managed to wake him up, Harry was sobbing uncontrollably.

"Stop it, Harry; you'll only aggravate your condition," Severus said worriedly, lightly stroking his friend's hot cheeks.

"Severus, what's your last name?" Harry suddenly croaked between his sobs that soon turned into harsh coughs.

_I am not a native speaker of English. So please excuse my mistakes!_

_All recognizable characters belong to J.K.Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

"Harry, calm down please," Severus said calmingly in his soft, silky voice, which he always used for his best friend, and pulled him in his arm. He sighed in relief when Albus stepped over and placed a phial with what Severus immediately recognized as a calming draught on the table. Just when he reached out for the phial, he saw that the headmaster spelled its contents into Harry's stomach. "Thanks Professor," he whispered gratefully, before he turned back to Harry, who slowly calmed down in his arm.

"Can you explain?" Harry croaked, a mixture of betrayal and hope written on his feverishly flushed face.

"Harry, I only knew since Minerva told me two days ago, and at first I was as shocked as you are."

"Then why didn't you tell me earlier?" Harry asked heatedly.

"Because you were delirious and in no condition to think properly," Severus replied softly and sighed. "During these two days, I had lots of time to think about it, and I believe that it's not only bad to be older than you. It also has advantages."

"What would be an advantage? You'll just hate me again," Harry whispered frightened.

"No Harry. I cannot promise you much now since I'm still only thirteen like you. However, I can promise that we will remain the good friends that we are now if that's what you want. Moreover, as an adult I'll be able to help you in a way, in which I'm not able to help you as a thirteen-year-old."

"In Potions you mean?" Harry enquired quietly.

"No Harry. Of course, I can and I will help you with Potions if you let me. What I mean are things apart from school on a private basis. Don't worry, Harry; everything will be different from what it was. However, I suggest that we speak about that after I take the final aging potion. Can you try to wait and trust me, Harry?"

Emerald eyes looked straight into Severus' obsidian eyes. "Yes, I trust you, Severus," Harry replied softly. "When are you going to take the aging potion?"

Severus sighed. "I don't know. We still have nearly two months of summer holidays left. Of course, you'll need two or three weeks to recover once more, but I thought maybe we could have some fun being the same age for a week or two before I took the potion. However, if you want me to take it earlier, I'm willing to do that at any time."

Seeing that Severus was raising an eyebrow at him, Harry shivered unconsciously and whispered, "I don't know; everything seems so unreal, if you know what I mean."

"Yes Harry; believe me, I feel just the same." He let out a small sigh. "Harry, I think it's time for you to go back to bed. I should take your temperature, give you your potions, and apply the healing salve once more. Do you feel well enough to eat dinner with us?"

"No, I'm not hungry, and my throat's too sore," Harry replied and obeyed when Severus motioned him to go back to bed.

"Do you want me to apply the healing salve, or shall I call Minerva, Poppy, or Albus?" Severus asked once more.

"I'd like you to do it, if you don't mind," Harry replied.

"All right," Severus replied and carefully took Harry's pyjama top off, causing him to shiver vehemently, before he stuck the thermometer into Harry's mouth. "Yes, it's starting on your stomach and your chest as well," he mumbled, gently applying the cream.

'_That feels so good_,' Harry thought, sighing in relief when the salve came in contact with his itching skin.

Severus was still applying the salve on Harry's arms when Minerva entered the room. "I'm sorry, I had to prepare the letters that had to be sent out to the new first years," she apologized.

"No problem, Minerva," Severus replied, taking the thermometer back from Harry. "39.5," he announced.

"Oh my poor child, you really got it bad this time. Are you feeling worse than the last time, Harry?" Minerva asked softly.

"No, I don't think it's worse. It's just..." A coughing fit made him shut up, and Severus turned to Minerva.

"Minerva, I told him everything, and he got a bit worked up about everything. I believe that's the reason for his fever to spike, although Albus gave him a calming draught."

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

In the morning, Harry was feeling much better and hesitantly accepted Severus' suggestion to head to the Potions lab to brew a simple potion. Considering that Severus was only thirteen, Albus decided to accompany the two boys and once more led them into Severus' quarters.

"Is there anything you'd like to brew?" Severus asked Harry when they entered the lab.

Harry gave him a surprised look, coughing a little. "Um... you know, when we were six you made fruit drops for me. They were delicious and they were very soothing for my throat. I'd like to make something that helps my throat again."

"We can do that, but we could also brew a potion against a sore throat." Severus gave Albus an uncertain glance.

"Severus, I have no idea of potions. If you know or find the recipe and are able to brew it, you're welcome to do so; otherwise we could ask Poppy if she has a potion for Harry," the headmaster replied gently.

"Please take a seat, Albus, Harry, and let me have a look. You can make the fruit drops, Harry, and I'll brew a healing potion for you," Severus promised and began to skim the books on the shelf. Finally, he took one book and laid it on the table, a determined expression on his face. "All right Harry, here's your recipe. Can you get the ingredients that are listed here, please? Then I can use the time to search for the other recipe."

"Okay," Harry replied and began to gather the ingredients. "Finished," he said a few minutes later.

Severus quickly examined the ingredients, nodding contentedly. "All right, do you know how to prepare each of them?" he asked, giving Harry a piercing look.

"I'm not sure," Harry replied in a very small voice that came out as a whisper.

"That's all right, Harry; let's pretend that you never brewed anything so far, and I'll show you," Severus said determined and gently showed Harry how he had to prepare each single ingredient.

"Thanks," Harry mumbled, feeling slightly embarrassed towards his friend.

"You're welcome, Harry," Severus replied softly and prepared a cauldron for Harry. "Now you can slowly insert the first ingredient, and don't forget to pay attention to the stirring direction, which means if it says clockwise or counter clockwise."

While Harry began to brew his fruit drops, Severus busied himself with his own potion. However, he watched Harry's every move and twice corrected him right in time to prevent him from stirring in the wrong direction or adding an ingredient too early. After an hour of intense work, Harry proudly looked at the fruit drops that had to remain in a form to cool down for a while. He sighed in relief and began to clean up his working space.

"Harry, it's all right; I'll clean up when I'm finished," Severus told him after a glance in his friend's face, before he turned to the headmaster. "Albus, this potion will need another thirty minutes. Could you please take Harry into the living room, so that he can rest for a while?"

"Of course my boy, come on, Harry," the headmaster replied gently, noticing that Harry's eyes were glazed over again. He made Harry lie down on the sofa, glad when the child complied. "Would you mind me sit here?" he enquired softly and when Harry slightly shook his head, he sat down on the edge of the sofa.

"Harry, how are you faring? I mean concerning the matter with Severus."

Harry cleared his throat. '_What am I supposed to say?_' he thought frantically. '_I don't know what to think of the whole matter_.'

"I'm not sure," he finally replied, averting his eyes to the floor. "On one hand I hope so much that my problems with Professor Snape will be solved this way; however, on the other hand I'm afraid to lose a good friend. Severus is the best friend I ever had. I mean, Ron and Hermione are good friends, but he understands me so much better. He has so many similar experiences." He slowly trailed off, hesitantly looking up into the headmaster's blue eyes.

"The two of you are very similar anyway," Albus replied, giving Harry a fond smile. "I had a conversation with Severus about the matter yesterday, and he promised that he will not abandon the friendship with you. During the two days when you were so ill, he apparently spent a lot of time thinking about the matter, and he presented me a few very good ideas, asking for my approval, and I could only tell him that I full heartedly approve of his decisions. However, I won't tell you anything now; we will have to let him age up and think about the whole matter from his adult point of view. But you do not have to worry, my child; everything will be all right."

* * *

_I am not a native speaker of English. So please excuse my mistakes!_

_All recognizable characters belong to J.K.Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

During the next few days, Severus taught Harry how to brew potions every day. They brewed funny potions, which would turn people into animals or would make them stutter or sing, for use at school during the school year, and they brewed easy healing potions for Poppy. After a week, Harry was able to brew a fever reducer or a headache potion flawlessly enough to be used in the hospital wing on his own.

One morning when Severus woke up, Harry was sitting in his bed, very excited. "Severus, do you think we could go flying for a while before we brew potions today? I'd love to fly, even if it was only for a few minutes. We could just take a Snitch and try to catch it."

Severus smirked at his friend's excitement. "Let me check on you first, and then we'll ask Albus or Minerva if we may fly. However, you definitely won't be able to brew potions after flying. Your condition isn't well enough yet. But we don't have to brew every day; you're very adept anyway." He picked up the thermometer from the night table and sighed. "Open up please."

While they were waiting, Severus applied the healing cream, frowning. "Do you feel better at all, Harry?"

Harry slightly shook his head. "Icky," he mumbled around the thermometer. '_My skin feels so hot and itching, but the worst is that my throat's so sore_,' he thought.

"38.3," Severus read from the display; "I don't think they'll let you go flying."

"Then let's just go without asking," Harry replied stubbornly. "It's not so bad today, and I really need it," he tried to convince his friend. "You're not a teacher yet, Severus," he added, smirking.

"I know that and I'm glad about it; however, I'm your friend and not supposed to help you worsen your condition," Severus replied, raising an eyebrow at Harry.

At that instant, Albus entered the room. "Good morning, my boys. How are you on this fine morning?"

"Fine," Harry replied enthusiastically. "Can we go flying for a few minutes? Please!" He gave the headmaster a pleading puppy dog look.

Albus looked at the card on Harry's night table, where they used to record his data and sighed. "All right, my boy, but only for a few minutes."

"Thank you, Professor," Harry replied happily and scrambled out of bed.

"You can be lucky that Albus was the first to get up today. Minerva would never have allowed you to go flying while you're having a fever," Severus told his enthusiastic friend, while they were heading to the Quidditch pitch.

When they were taking off into the air, Harry realized from the angle in which the morning light came through the trees of the Forbidden Forest that it still had to be very early. He released the Snitch, and both boys concentrated on catching the fast golden ball. Harry expected to be able to catch the Snitch within minutes like in the Quidditch practice of the Gryffindor team, but an hour later, he was still looking for it. Unfortunately, he noticed that his throat that had been bothering him since he came down with the wizard's measles the second time was becoming so sore that he couldn't swallow any more, and when he pulled up from a particularly deep dive, he felt his ears hurt as well. Feeling totally unwell now, Harry decided to take a break and landed on the ground just when Severus caught the Snitch.

Severus was horrified to see Harry sitting on the ground, his head resting on his knees, which he had pulled close to his chest. Both hands were frantically tugging his ears. "Harry, what's wrong?" he asked in concern.

"My throat," Harry croaked. "Couldn't swallow anymore and then my ears began to hurt," he whispered miserably, averting his tear-stricken face to his friend.

"We need Poppy to help you," Severus replied and scooped the smaller boy up in his arms, quickly running up to the headmaster's office. "Albus, we need Poppy! Quickly!" he shouted while he brought Harry into their room and laid him on his bed.

Minerva was on Severus' heals and transfigured Harry's clothes into pyjamas, carefully tucking the child in, just when Poppy rushed into the room. Severus quickly explained what had happened, while the medi-witch already waved her wand over Harry. "Where is our normal Severus when I need him?" the healer mumbled more to herself than to her audience, but Severus could understand her mumbling well enough to feel a small sting of guilt. "His throat was infected all the time due to his bad case of the wizard's measles; however, flying in the wind worsened the infection so much that it spread to his ears, and now he has an ear infection on top of everything. He will need absolute bed rest for at least two days," she explained sternly.

Poppy turned to Severus. "Can you brew an ear salve for me?"

"I think so, provided that I find the recipe," Severus replied, feeling very uncomfortable. He quickly excused himself and hurried down to the dungeons. '_I should take the aging potion_,' he mused while he was making the ear salve for Harry. '_If I was an adult, I'd have so much more knowledge about healing potions, especially as the Potions Master here at Hogwarts, and if I still didn't know how to help Harry, I could do some research based on my knowledge, which I'm still lacking now_.'

When Severus returned to their room, Minerva and Poppy were sitting with Harry, who seemed to be in a bad condition. His face, which was extremely pale except for his deeply flushed cheeks, was scrunched in pain, and his half open eyes were glazed over and swimming in tears. "How is he?" Severus asked in concern while he handed Poppy the salve.

"Thank you, Severus," Poppy replied, sighing in relief, and busied herself carefully applying the ear salve to his ears, causing the tears in Harry's eyes to flow down freely.

"Does it hurt, sweetie?" Minerva asked softly, watching the boy worriedly.

"Yes," Harry whispered miserably.

"He is very ill," Poppy said finally, turning to Severus. He is in a lot of pain, and his fever is spiking right now. "What he needs is a potion that only your older self can make. I don't know where he keeps the recipe, nor do I know how it is called. At the moment, we can only wait for him to get better," she said sadly.

"Poppy, do you have my aging potion?" Severus asked determined. "I want to take it right now."

"Really?" Poppy asked, giving Severus a hopeful look.

"Of course; if Harry needs my potions expertise to get better, then this is the right timing," Severus replied shortly, holding out his hand.

"All right, Severus. In that case, please lie down on your bed," Minerva, who just returned with two phials in her hands, told the boy. She waved her wand at his clothing, so that it would grow together with him and handed him the aging potion immediately followed by a sleeping potion. As soon as Severus opened his mouth to protest, Poppy admonished him harshly.

"Severus, you might be in a lot of pain when your body stretches out, and it's definitely better to sleep through this."

When his body started to expand seconds later, Severus was already fast asleep. Poppy and Minerva remained at Harry's side for the rest of the day, trying to make him more comfortable. Only late in the evening, both women retired for the night after placing a charm on the sleeping Harry, which would alert both of them if Harry woke up. Unbeknownst to Severus, Poppy made sure to spell the strongest calming draught she had into his stomach before she left the room.

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Severus' mind slowly turned back to awareness. The pain in his joints seemed harmless compared to the thoughts and memories that continued to fill his mind. He gratefully gulped down the pain relieving potion that someone had kindly left on his night table. Only in slow motion dared he avert his eyes to his friend? No; the boy? No, '_Potter!_' his mind screamed, and his thoughts threatened to overwhelm him. He fiercely rubbed his forehead, sensing that the pain relieving potion didn't help against his worsening headache.

'_I need some time for myself_,' he decided and after a last glimpse on the small figure in the other bed, he left the room, heading for the dungeons. Entering the sanctuary of his own quarters, he let himself sink into the sofa in front of the fireplace, while his emotions and thoughts were a complete mess.

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A few hours later, Harry woke up, still feeling absolutely horrible. He noticed immediately that Severus' bed was empty. When Poppy and Minerva rushed into his room a few minutes later, Harry was drenched in tears, mumbling, "I knew that he wouldn't be my friend anymore. It would have been too good to be true."

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_I am not a native speaker of English. So please excuse my mistakes!_

_All recognizable characters belong to J.K.Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

Suddenly, Severus pulled himself out of his reverie and went in auto mode that made him enter his lab, where he automatically fetched the recipe for a potion he had to brew. Not aware of the fact why he had to brew exactly this potion at five o'clock in the morning, he set up a cauldron and prepared the ingredients. Only when he labelled the batch he had just finished, the question, '_Why did I have to brew that right now?_' penetrated his mind, causing him to raise an eyebrow. Suddenly, he remembered, '_Harry needs it_.'

He swiftly returned to the headmaster's office and hesitantly entered Harry's and his room, hiding his thoughts safely in his mind. He saw that Minerva was sitting on the edge of Harry's bed, bathing his hot face with a sponge. Seeing him enter the room with a batch of phials on his arm, Minerva leaned over to Harry, placed a kiss on his forehead, and whispered, "Look sweetie, Severus is back. He only went to brew a potion for you," before she stood up, vacating the space for her colleague.

"Harry, I need you to sit up for a moment, so that I can give you a potion," Severus told Harry in his soft, silky voice that made Harry open his eyes instantly. Severus gently brought the boy in a sitting position, pressing a phial against his lips.

Harry obediently gulped down the potion, sighing in relief when he felt the pain in his ears and throat recede. "Thanks," he mumbled, while he noticed ashamed that tears were beginning to stream down his cheeks.

"Harry, what's wrong?" Severus enquired softly, carefully feeling Harry's forehead.

"I thought you had abandoned me," Harry whispered, "but you came back."

"I promised that we would remain friends, didn't I?" Severus replied. "However, seeing how poor your condition is, I suggest that you try to sleep for a while. I'm going to stay here and try to get some sleep, too. I'll be here when you wake up."

"Promise?" Harry croaked.

"Promise," Severus replied, smirking. He adjusted a cool cloth on Harry's burning forehead and lay down on his own bed, pondering if he really should pull through the plan he had made when he had been thirteen.

During the next two days, Severus always remained at Harry's side. Only when he was sure that the boy was asleep, he tried to get some sleep as well after putting a spell on the child that would alert him if he woke up.

When Severus sat down on the edge of Harry's bed on the third day, Harry gave him a small smile and mumbled, "Thanks Professor for making me so much better."

Severus sighed. "Harry, you may still call me Severus. Even if I aged twenty years during the last three days, only three days passed, and I'm still your friend Severus. In class, you can't call me by my given name of course, but during the holidays or in private it's no problem."

"Thank you, Severus," Harry replied, seeing that a small smile played on his friend's lips.

"Harry, are you really feeling better?" Severus enquired, seeing that the boy's eyes were still glazed over and his cheeks were flushed.

"My throat and my ears don't hurt so much right now, and my skin doesn't itch so terribly anymore. I feel much more alert too."

"Let's see if your fever came down a bit, hmm?" Severus coaxed Harry into taking the thermometer in his mouth, comfortingly holding his hand, while they had to wait. "If you really feel better, I'd like to speak with you about something," he announced, leaving Harry to wonder what his friend could want to speak about.

"May I get up for a while?" Harry asked as soon as Severus took the thermometer back, causing the man to throw a glance on the display and frown. "I'm afraid you have to stay in bed until Poppy comes later and checks on you. Your fever is a bit lower but still exceeds 39 degrees."

Harry sighed. "Um... Severus, what was it that you wanted to speak with me about?"

Severus cleared his throat and looked straight into Harry's face. Knowing that his concentration span wouldn't be too large due to the fever, he decided to come straight to the point. "Harry, when I told you that I'm older than you, I promised to help you, apart from the potions tutoring. Do you remember that?"

"Yes," Harry replied wearily.

"Since I happen to know how unpleasant your so-called family is and that you don't really want to return there each summer, I thought about becoming your guardian if that is what you want," Severus continued in his soft, silky voice.

Harry remained quiet for a few minutes, before he enquired in a small voice, "Are you sure that you'd really be okay with that? I don't want to become a burden to anyone."

Severus sighed and explained, "Harry, you neither are nor will be a burden to anyone, especially not to me. You're my friend, and I'd like to become your permanent guardian. I'd even adopt you if you wanted to become my son."

Harry suddenly began to cry and looked at Severus in fright. "Severus, am I delirious, or did you really say what I just meant to hear?"

"You're not delirious, I really said that, and you don't have to decide now. I want you to decide when you're completely back to health since it is such an important decision."

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During the next days, Harry's condition improved steadily, and Harry and Severus decided to move down into Severus' private quarters, where the house elves had prepared a new room for Harry.

Harry was completely amazed. "Is this really my own room?" he asked hesitantly.

"Yes Harry, this is your own room. We can change everything, for example the colours, just like you want to have it," Severus answered, raising an eyebrow at the excited child.

"No, thanks, it's absolutely brilliant as it is," Harry replied, smiling.

"All right; then I believe it's time for you to take a nap, so that you'll be able to get up for dinner. Albus and Minerva are going to join us here in our quarters for dinner."

During the next few days, Harry spent much time resting on the sofa in the living room and brewing potions together with Severus in his private potions lab. At one stage, Severus decided to let Harry brew all potions, which they had brewed in class during the last school year, so that he would able to get on well in his next school year. "If you continue to brew like this, you will get an 'O' in Potions," he told Harry one day, glancing proudly between the simmering potion and the child.

"Thanks, Severus," Harry replied happily.

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A few days after they came to live in the dungeons, Severus was sitting on the edge of his bed when he woke up. "Severus, I'd like to begin with my summer assignments," Harry said hesitantly, glancing at the desk that looked so inviting.

Severus smirked. "Well, I'm glad to hear that; however, I must take your temperature and apply the healing salve first. There are still six weeks of holidays left, so that you don't have to worry about your assignments yet. It will probably take another week or two at the most until you're completely recovered."

When Severus tried to stick the thermometer into Harry's mouth, he shook his head. "Sorry, can you put it elsewhere please?"

Severus smirked and stuck it under Harry's armpit, giving the boy an expecting glance. "I was wondering if I had to return to the Dursleys, even if you were my guardian. You know the headmaster always says something about the blood wards, which would keep me safe or something."

Severus sighed. "You wouldn't have the protection of the blood wards any more, but I'm sure that I'd be able to keep you safe, Harry."

"Thank God," Harry mumbled.

'_What would the Weasleys say if I became Severus' son all of a sudden? Ron would surely cease being my friend, knowing how much he despises Severus_,' Harry mused worriedly.

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_Thanks for your kind words in your many reviews; they really help me to write on faster :-)_

_I am not a native speaker of English. So please excuse my mistakes!_

_All recognizable characters belong to J.K.Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

'_Hermione would surely support any decision I made about Severus being my guardian or even adoptive father, but things would become very difficult with Ron_,' Harry mused, but dismissed the thought immediately. '_If he really is my friend, he'll support my decision_,' he decided and looked up into Severus' eyes.

"I made my decision. I'd like you to adopt me and become my guardian, if you really don't mind."

Severus gave him a surprised look, raising an eyebrow. "Are you really sure about that, Harry?"

"Yes," Harry replied determined.

"As to your question if you may begin with your assignments today, Harry, I'm afraid no," Severus told him, taking back the thermometer. "As long as you have a fever, I don't want you to do any school work. Do you understand that?"

"Yes," Harry mumbled, sighing.

"However, we could play Chess if you want," Severus suggested, and Harry quickly followed the man into the living room.

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A week later, Harry's rash vanished and his fever came down to a slight temperature. "Are you feeling well enough to join Albus and Minerva for breakfast in Minerva's quarters?" Severus asked, giving Harry a piercing look.

"Of course, I feel fine," Harry replied, returning the look. "I was already wondering why you were wearing robes today," he added, glancing approvingly at Severus' green robes.

Severus smirked. "All right; then get dressed please, and put your robes on too, since I plan to take you outside for an errand today." Before Harry could ask anything, he stood up and left the room.

Thirty minutes later, they were eating breakfast in Minerva's small kitchen. '_I like this kitchen_,' Harry thought. '_It holds a lot of good memories_.'

"Harry, how are you feeling?" Minerva asked, observing that the boy looked much better.

"I'm fine. Thanks a lot for taking care of me for such a long time," Harry replied gratefully.

"He seems to have finally overcome the wizard's measles. Apart from a slight temperature he is all right," Severus explained.

"Very well," the headmaster spoke up. "In that case I'd like you to accompany Severus to the Dursleys this morning..."

"What?!" Harry blurted out, absolutely terrified. "But I thought..."

"Hey, keep quiet, Harry. Everything is all right," Severus interrupted him quickly. "I promised that you don't have to go back there, and you won't," he said soothingly. "However, we need to get their sign to the guardianship papers in order to have the guardianship transferred to me."

"Ah, all right," Harry said relieved, letting out the air he hadn't noticed that he was holding it back.

"You need to sign here as well," Severus pointed out, when they were sitting in the headmaster's office after breakfast.

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As soon as Harry had signed the guardianship papers and the additional adoption papers, the two friends took the Floo network to Arabella Figg's house and walked over to the Dursleys' residence.

"You!?" Petunia screamed as soon as she opened the door. "And I thought we didn't have to take him back this summer," she stated, clearly disappointed.

"You won't. You only need to sign the guardianship over to me, and then you won't have to see your nephew ever again," Severus sneered. "I'm going to adopt the boy, seeing that he is my best friend's son. As soon as he voices something, his relationship to Lily becomes evident, which I cannot say in your case."

Harry had to try hard to hide a chuckle, and Petunia grudgingly led them into the living room, obviously not wanting the neighbours to witness this kind of conversation. While she signed the guardianship papers, Harry noticed that Severus was unobtrusively waving his wand around the room.

"Do you have anything to take with you, Harry?" Severus enquired, before they left the house.

"No, I don't own anything here," Harry replied, waving his hand to Petunia, and stepped out of the house. '_Thank God_,' he thought gratefully, while they returned to Mrs. Figg's house.

"What did you do to them?" he suddenly remembered.

Severus chuckled. "Ah, I merely put a charm on their house. In all their photos, they will see you instead of your cousin; even if they'll have new photos on the walls, in frames, in photo albums, they won't be able to see one photo of your cousin. All they'll be able to see is you."

Harry gasped. "You're evil," he said jokingly.

"All right, Harry. Shall we take the Floo to the Ministry?"

"Of course," Harry nodded.

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"No, I'm sorry, but I cannot just let someone simply adopt Harry Potter, moreover change his name," they were told at the ministry.

"Then please summon Albus Dumbledore as the Head of the Wizengamot," Severus replied calmly.

Five minutes later, Albus stepped out of the Floo. "What's the problem, Margaret?" he asked the elder lady in the family department. Hearing her reservations, he replied, "I know Professor Snape very well as well as Harry Potter. So far, I have taken responsibility over Harry Potter as his magical guardian since his godfather is not capable of fulfilling his duties. However, I would like to release Harry into the guardianship of his adoptive father, Professor Severus Snape. As to the change of name, I suggest to keep 'Potter' as one of his middle names. The name 'Potter' as last name is an unbearable burden for a young man, who is fourteen today and herewith old enough to decide on his name and on the person, whom he wants as his family."

'_Fourteen today?_' Harry mused. '_I completely forgot about my birthday_.'

Twenty minutes later, the headmaster and the two Snapes stepped out of the fireplace in the headmaster's office and were led into the Great Hall, where all the teachers as well as the whole Weasley clan and Hermione were waiting to start a huge birthday party.

"Harry, I'm so happy for you," Hermione whispered into his ear.

"You have to get very good at Potions, Harry, and then you can help us brew prank potions," the twins told him, causing Harry to smirk and tell them about the funny potions he had brewed together with Severus when the professor had been thirteen.

Ron didn't even look at Harry, but he was so occupied unwrapping his many presents and talking to Ginny and the rest of her family, who were honestly happy for him, that he hardly noticed his friend's antics.

When Harry was in bed that evening, Severus sat on the edge of his bed and handed him a small box. "I still have to give you my present, Harry." When Harry opened it and threw him a curious glance, he explained, "It's a necklace with a family pendant of the Prince family. I'm wearing the equivalent, and the two pendants are able to interact with each other. I'd like you to wear your all the time; then I will know immediately if you're injured, sick, or in danger."

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The remaining weeks of the holidays passed quickly. The new founded family spent much time brewing potions, but they also played chess and went flying together. For the first time since Harry started Hogwarts, he managed to do all his homework during the summer holidays, and he didn't only do it once but several times. Severus offered to look over his essays and corrected so much that Harry had to do all his assignments all over again. However, Harry didn't mind at all but was grateful for Severus' help and advice, enjoying to have a parent for the first time in his life since he could remember.

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All eyes were trimmed on them when they entered the Great Hall together at the beginning of the Welcoming feast. Severus' green robes were billowing behind him, and Harry kept as close to his new father as he could, trying to ignore the whispering all around them.

"It's all right, Harry. Remember, you have good friends, who accept your decision and want you to be happy," Severus whispered to his son just before they had to part, so that he could continue to the head table and Harry to the Gryffindor table.

"Thank you, Dad," Harry replied, giving his father a genuine smile.

"You're welcome, son," Severus simply smiled back, causing a collective huge gasp all over the Great Hall.

**THE END**

_Thanks a lot for your overwhelming support for this story and your kind words in each of your reviews - you really helped me pull through with this story and finish it so quickly! THANKS!_

_Due to your kind words I decided to write a 'small' sequel. It is called** "Severus' and Harry's Quality Family Time"** - I hope you'll like it!_

_I'd like to use this opportunity to give a big thanks also to the people, who sometimes use to inform me of mistakes (wording, grammar) in my stories, especially to Aqua Mage, excessivelyperky, and Padawan Jan-AQ, who already helped me several times by correcting my mistakes! Thank you!_

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_And as you all know, I am not a native speaker of English. So please excuse my mistakes! And of course, all recognizable characters belong to __Mrs. Rowling__, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


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